Thread by @stephenwhittle

1. @LizJone55098804

All Service providers decide what services they are going to provide, how & when they will provide them, & to whom

The only restrictions might be local bylaws, & if they are discriminating against a person BECAUSE of their protected characteristic. …

https://twitter.com/lizjone55098804/status/2013181027095568469

2. … If a Trans Person brings a discrimination claim to Court that service provider discriminated against them because they have the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, the Service provider has a potential defence as contained in various exemptions in the EqAct. …

3. The TP must demonstrate they were discriminated against because they are intending to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment or are perceived to be a TP.

The Service provider has a defence IF they can show

a. They are a separate or single sex …

3. … service provider as defined in the words of the EqAct

b. Their decision to exclude a TP was legitimate i.e. it was made to pursue a legitimate aim - such as ensuring other potential vulnerable users felt safe & able to access their separate or single sex service
AND …

4. … c. The decision to exclude a TP was a proportionate response e.g. the Service Provider felt they could not provide the service to both a non-TP & a TP,
And/ or

d. They consider how to mitigate the exclusion e.g. are they able to offer or direct the TP to a …

5. … reasonable alternative service, & by doing so they are not further discriminating against the person because of their Trans status (or perceived Trans status).
The Service provider is not obliged to provide an alternative (see no.1 above), but they cannot ignore…

6. … … the possibility of mitigation

The employment exemptions work in exactly the same way, except an employer does not have to consider the impact of not employing a TP, or mitigate the effects of not employing the TP

I hope that clarifies what the EqAct says.

To add …

7. An employer becomes a a service provider when they provide loos or changing rooms for their employers or customers, but that does not necessarily mean they are providing a Single or separate sex service according to the definitions in the EqAct

An employer might argue …

8. … the 1992 Regs mean they must exclude TP from the workplace loos. & changing areas, but

a. they cannot not employ, or dismiss, a TP to ensure they comply with the 1992 Regs

b. they must ensure any alternative provision for TP is of the equivalent quality.
…

9. … c. They must not require TM & TW to share a changing room or loo

d. They must not‘ ‘out’ an otherwise ‘stealth’ TP with a gender recognition certificate by insisting they do something to stay in employment which would ‘out’ them. Being informed a TP has a gender …

10. … recognition certificate is protected data under GDPR, & under the GRAct it is a criminal offence to disclose that information to others.

As you can see there are many factors to be taken into account when considering the balancing of various rights

A key principle …

11. … in balancing is that doing must not not strip either party of their legal rights under the European Convention on Human Rights & the UK’s Human Rights Act

Hence, why Govt seems to be taking so long to consider the various issues and how they might be addressed in …

12. … statutory guidance for service providers - and whether what they approve would seem (or not) to pass over into employment regulations & guidance

I hope this helps

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