The Darlington nurses have been awarded £187,000 in damages and a formal apology following their legal victory at an Employment Tribunal earlier this year.
Their case began in July 2023 when they complained to the management about the presence of a biologically male nurse in the female changing facilities.
Rather than have their concerns addressed, the nurses were told they needed to be more inclusive, with the trans staff member in question even offering to help educate them on why they should be willing to get undressed in his presence.
Management later provided a separate but inferior space for the female nurses to use.
In January the Employment Tribunal ruled in favour of the nurses, stating that County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust’s policy permitting a biological male to use the female changing rooms was “unlawful discrimination”.
Following the ruling, the Trust has agreed to pay £187,000 in damages. This figure does not include legal costs, which will be determined at a separate hearing.
In addition to the damages, the Trust has also issued an apology to the nurses and has committed to providing separate changing facilities for trans staff. It has also abandoned its “Transitioning in the Workplace policy”.
However, the Trust has also retained the right to take disciplinary action against the nurses for speaking about their case to the media.
Bethany Hutchison, President of the Darlington Nursing Union, said, “We have done this, not just for ourselves, but for our colleagues who were too afraid or unable to speak up, and for every woman and girl in the country.
“We raised our concerns because we believed something was seriously wrong, not just for us, but for the protection of all women in the NHS. Instead of being listened to, we were ignored, labelled, and subjected to pressure and intimidation.
“This outcome is a vindication of our stand for dignity, privacy, and common sense. We hope it ensures that no woman is ever again made to feel unsafe in her workplace for speaking the truth.”
Throughout the case the nurses were supported by the Christian Legal Centre. Andrea Williams, the group’s CEO, said, “This is a landmark victory for these courageous nurses who refused to back down despite extraordinary pressure from an NHS that has fought with everything it has to allow men into women’s changing rooms and to trample over biological reality."
Williams also called upon the Trust to stop the Nursing and Midwifery Council from taking disciplinary action against the nurses.
