Trans groups urge businesses to oppose ‘harmful’ changes to EHRC guidance
Trans rights demonstrators gather outside the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on May 02, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland to protest their call for trans segregation after the recent ruling on biological sex by the Supreme Court in London (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Trans rights demonstrators gather outside the Equalities and Human Rights Commission on May 02, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland to protest their call for trans segregation after the recent ruling on biological sex by the Supreme Court in London (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Safe Space Bristol and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance plan to write to the government, asking them to reconsider “harmful” updates to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) code of practice, and have urged businesses and members of the public to also sign the letter.
The EHRC’s draft code of practice for services, public functions and associations, previously read: “Legal sex is the sex recorded at your birth or the sex you have acquired by obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).”
A website page linked to the now-closed consultation period regarding proposed changes to the code, now says: “Following the UK Supreme Court ruling… this definition is no longer accurate because a GRC does not change your legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. We have therefore updated this definition… to be: ‘Legal sex is the sex that was recorded at your birth’.”
Safe Space Bristol and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance fear the updated code, to be published in “due course”, could force trans people to be excluded from UK businesses and public services. They refer to the proposals as “discriminatory, impractical and economically damaging”.
‘Inclusion and fairness are non-negotiable values’
The organisations are currently collecting signatures and urging businesses to join them in signing the letter to business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the minister for women and equalities, Bridget Phillipson, in an effort to prevent the proposals taking effect.
The letter claims the update will force “businesses to discriminate, by telling them not to let trans people access gendered services and spaces, creating costly legal and operational risks, telling businesses to enforce a trans bathroom ban, [and] undermining the UK’s reputation and economy”.
Carys Daniels, the founder of Safe Space Bristol, told PinkNews: “This letter is a crucial way for businesses and allies to stand up against harmful proposals that risk excluding trans people and exposing businesses to serious legal and financial consequences.
“Many people still don’t know the extent of what’s happening, so we need not only businesses to sign and share, but also everyone to speak up and spread the word.
“Every voice helps amplify our collective call, showing the government that inclusion and fairness are non-negotiable values in UK workplaces and public life. We must make sure this isn’t pushed through quietly.”
‘If you run a businesses and don’t want your staff to be told to become the gender police, please sign now’
Trans+ Solidarity Alliance founder Jude Guaitamacchi told PinkNews: “The EHRC’s proposals in its draft Code of Practice would devastate trans lives – seeking to mandate the blanket exclusion of trans people from gendered spaces and services.
“It would turn the Equality Act into a trans bathroom ban and exclude us from participating in many areas of public life. We are joining Safe Space UK and organisations and businesses across the country who want to stand up for their inclusive values in calling for the Government to take urgent action before it’s too late. If you run a businesses and don’t want your staff to be told to become the gender police, please sign now.”
The letter can be signed here.
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