Employment tribunal awards to trans people in the UK
Trans people who win a claim for discrimination at work receive substantial payouts
In the 1996 case of P v. S and Cornwall County Council, the European Court of Justice ruled that transsexual people are covered under the 1976 EEC Equal Treatment Directive. As a result, discrimination against transsexual people is treated by UK courts as an offence under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
When trans people who have suffered discrimination at the hands of their employers have taken cases to employment tribunals (previously known as industrial tribunals) under the SDA, those who have succeeded in proving their case have frequently won substantial damages.
Cases of sex discrimination are not subject to the minimum period of employment which applies to other cases which may be brought before employment tribunals, and the tribunals have the power to award unlimited damages against persons who have suffered discrimination at any stage in their employment: in some cases, these awards against those who have suffered sex discrimination have exceeded £250,000.
The result is that employers who discriminate against transsexual people, whether during a recruitment process or in the course of employment, or who fail to take reasonable steps to protect their trans employees from harrassment in the workplace, may find themselves paying substantial awards to those who have suffered.
We hope that employers will adopt Press For Change’s guidelines Transsexual people in the workplace: a code of practice, and ensure that trans employees have the same opportunity as others to contribute to the success of the companies and other organisations for whom they work.
Press For Change does not encourage people to seek legal battles with employers. On the contrary, we repeatedly remind people that where difficulties arise in the workplace, the aim on both sides should be to resolve the problems through dialogue and negotiation, and we hope that Code of Practice will help to provide a framework for this. We’re particularly keen that employers should recognise the importance of adopting high standards before problems arise, and to encourage this we’ve set up an awards scheme to acknowledge the efforts of those employers whose personnel policies meet high standards.
However, some employers fail to meet the standards required by law, and discriminate against trans people who are existing employees or potential recruits, or fail to protect their employees against harrassment. Trans people should remember that since 1996 they have had a legal right to redress, and that the courts will act in support of those who have genuinely faced discrimination.
Here are some of the cases in recent years in which trans people have have succeeded:
- Kristina Sheffield v. Air Foyle Charter Airlines
In May 1998, an industrial Tribunal in Bedford ruled that the airline has discriminated against Ms Shefield in not granting her an interview when she applied for a job. She was awarded £77,000 in damages. (See also news reports of the case and the full text of the industrial tribunal ruling) - Susan Marshall v DPP
In November 1998, the Crown Prosecution Service and Dame Barbara Mills, former director of public prosecutions, agreed in an out-of-court settlement to pay compensation to Ms Marshall following their withdrawal of a job offer when she revealed she was about to undergo gender reassignment. (See the news report of the settlement) - P v. S and Cornwall County Council
This 1995-96 case was the one referred to the European Court of Justice, in which the Court ruled that transsexual people are covered by the EEC’s 1976 Equal Treatment Directive. Following that ruling, an out-of-court settlement was agreed between the parties.
As can be seen from this brief list, in the only case we know of in which damages were awarded by the tribunal, the award was £77,000. In other cases where damages were agreed out of court, there was in most cases an agreement not to disclose the size of the settlement. However, the lowest figure we have heard of in such cases is £7,000, and most are substantially higher.
