Due to societal changes it is down to new legal cases to bring the law up to date. Recently, in the case of Taylor v Jaguar Land Rover Ltd, it was successfully argued that non-binary and gender-fluid identities are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
It is reported that the claimant in this case, Ms Taylor, had worked at Jaguar Land Rover for almost 20 years as an engineer, before identifying as gender fluid or non-binary. Ms Taylor now reportedly identifies as female.
The now former employee of Jaguar Land Rover alleged to have suffered harassment and discrimination from her work colleagues in the form of insults and abusive jokes upon beginning to wear mostly women’s clothes. Ms Taylor also experienced difficulties using toilet facilities and gaining managerial support.
It is understood that as a result, Ms Taylor resigned from her position and took Jaguar Land Rover to the employment tribunal, stating that she had been subject to direct discrimination and harassment in the workplace as a result of her gender reassignment and sexual orientation. Ms Taylor also claimed victimisation after the respondent failed to permit her to retract her resignation.
Section 7(1) of the Equality Act 2010 states: “A person has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment if the person is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of reassigning the person’s sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex.”
This section of the act has been strictly interpreted to apply only to people who make, or propose to make, a change from either female to male, or male to female, despite the scope of the term ‘gender’ significantly expanding since the act was came into force in 2010. ‘transgender’ is a word that is used to describe people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were accepted to have been born with. However, it’s definition in practice has now broadened to cover several gender identities including non-binary, gender fluid, third gender, and gender non-conforming. Ms Taylor identified as ‘gender fluid’, this is someone whose gender varies over time and evidence submitted stated that she was “not undergoing gender-reassignment because she was gender-fluid”. The Tribunal eventually determined that gender fluid and non-binary people were in fact protected under section 7(1).
If you feel that you have been harassed or discriminated against at work as a result of gender reassignment, or any of the further protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Stephensons Solicitors LLP is one of the few firms in the country that has a dedicated discrimination law team that assist both claimants and defendants/respondents in bringing and defending discrimination claims in both the employment tribunal and County Court.
You can contact our specialist team for further advice on 0161 696 6170.
By Eloise Stirrup, graduate paralegal in the discrimination team.
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