Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman: how will this affect employers?
On 16th April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman should be based on biological sex rather than gender identity or reassignment, as referred to in the Equality Act 2010. Whilst there is a lot of media coverage and views about the decision, Employment law Partner, Samantha Castle, explains what this means (for now at least) for the workplace.
Why has the ruling happened?
The dispute first started in 2018 between the Scottish Parliament and For Women Scotland, a not-for-profit company that works to protect and strengthen women’s and children’s rights.
The Scottish Parliament passed a bill ensuring gender balance on public sector boards, however, For Women Scotland complained that ministers had included transgender people as part of the quotas in that law.
The dispute has been contested in Scottish courts several times.
The Supreme Court judges were asked to rule on what the law means by ‘women’ and ‘sex’; either biological or certificated as defined in the Gender Recognition Act (GRA).
What do employers need to know?
Update policies and procedures
Employers will need to update policies and other documents to reflect this legal definition of a woman, which may include onboarding documents, diversity policies and the staff handbook. Thought will need to be given as to how updates are implemented due to the sensitivity that surrounds the new ruling.
Facilities
In workplaces, a review of single-sex facilities such as toilets, showers and changing rooms will lawfully be restricted based on biological sex, meaning anyone identifying as transgender with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) will not be able to use the facilities. However, this does not mean that transgender individuals can be excluded from these spaces, and they still have protections against discrimination under the Equality Act. Workplaces are encouraged to provide mixed-sex facilities as well as single-sex facilities. Any facilities accessible for one person at a time in a lockable room, (not a cubicle) can be used by either women or men.
Workplace harassment
If a transgender person is subject to harassment in the workplace, for example, a male-to-female transgender worker is treated less favourably than a biological woman, this could be classed as unlawful harassment based on their protected (transgender) characteristic.
Get in touch with our employment solicitors
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will incorporate the new Supreme Court ruling into their code of practice which is expected to be presented to Parliament by the end of June 2025. This will help give clarity to businesses in understanding their duties under the Equality Act 2010.
If you’re unsure how this change will affect you as an employee or an employer, get in contact with our employment law solicitors on 0117 325 2929 or fill out our online enquiry form.
