Custody officer claims unfair dismissal over prisoner pronoun refusal

A former trainee prison custody officer has claimed he was unfairly sacked for objecting to calling transgender prisoners by their chosen pronoun.

David Toshack told an employment tribunal security firm GeoAmey terminated his employment in January last year over his gender critical views.

Toshack, 51, from Fife, said his Christian beliefs and his "understanding of science, biology and reality" meant he was not willing to call a prisoner who was born male "she" or "her".

GeoAmey said it would present its evidence to the hearing later this week.

Toshack was days away from completing his training period with the firm on 7 January last year.

The former army medic, who served in Iraq, Kenya and Afghanistan, was due to take up a £24,000 per year position as a prison custody officer at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court prior to being dismissed.

During training, Toshack was told he had to use a prisoner's chosen pronoun – in this case "she" or "her" for a trans woman prisoner who was born male.

However he said he would not do this as he believed nobody could change the body they were born with.

Toshack was taken to a meeting with GeoAmey training leader Chris Hutton and a woman representing the firm's human resources department later that day.

He said he would call the prisoner by their chosen female name but would not use the pronoun she.

Toshack told the tribunal he believed the meeting would lead to a compromise.

But he claimed Hutton told him refusal to use the pronoun meant he was "not treating prisoners equally".

He alleged he was sacked after a 10-20 minute meeting, leaving him feeling "shocked and embarrassed".

The tribunal also heard evidence of Toshack's posts on social media.

He said he had used "industrial language and dark humour" on his profile but denied ever abusing anyone for their sexuality or identity.

He said he was not aware GeoAmey were looking at his posts until after his dismissal.

Toshack, now a self-employed gardener, later launched an appeal against his sacking with the support of the Free Speech Union (FSU), however that was unsuccessful.

FSU director Toby Young accused GeoAmey of "unlawful discrimination" and said Toshack losing his job over his beliefs was "completely outrageous".

Official Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance states a transgender individual's name and pronouns should be used in "all verbal communication".

In April last year, the UK Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a woman is defined by biological sex under the 2010 Equality Act.

A spokesperson for GeoAmey said: "We respect the legal status of the tribunal body, therefore we do not intend to provide any additional public remarks whilst the case is being heard."

The tribunal continues.