Duncan Leatherdale
North East and Cumbria

Image source, PA Media

Hospital bosses violated the dignity of a group of female nurses who complained about a transgender woman using their changing room, an employment tribunal found this morning.

Eight nurses from Darlington Memorial Hospital claimed they had been "penalised" by managers for objecting to Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman, using the single-sex space.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust claimed the nurses had "demonised" their colleague and the policy was in accordance with guidelines at the time.

A panel headed by employment judge Seamus Sweeney said the trust had created a "hostile environment", but found other elements of the nurses' claim to be unfounded.

The nurses said the ruling was a "massive vindication" and "victory for common sense".

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said the organisation was "taking time to review the judgement" and would comment further "once we have had the opportunity to consider it in full".

Rose has been approached for comment.

We're ending our live coverage now, but for more on this story you can read our news article.

Another of the nurses' complaints was that they were told to "broaden their mindset" at a meeting with manager, which was disputed by Tracy Atkinson, head of workforce and organisation development, who allegedly said it.

The judgement said there were conflicting accounts but concluded Atkinson had talked about educating and training the nurses about the "rights of trans employees in the workplace".

The panel said they dismissed Atkinson's claim that she was referring to educating the nurses about the Trust's resolution processes, adding: "There was no ‘education’ or ‘training’ that we could envisage on the ‘process’ of raising a complaint beyond simply directing staff to the relevant procedure and forms."

The panel said they did not oppose equality and diversity education and training, but in this case Atkinson's comments "served to highlight to the nurses that they were not being taken seriously, reinforcing the feeling that they were seen as transphobic or bigoted".

"If nothing else, it demonstrated a prioritisation of one group over another," the panel said.

When talking to the nurses, NHS managers did discuss "discrimination", the tribunal found.

But they only ever referred to it in relation to Rose, they added.

"At no point did anyone else in management or HR seriously consider that the policy of permitting a trans woman to use the female changing rooms might constitute some form of discrimination against female employees," the judgement said.

The panel also concluded the nurses were "correct in their belief" that management was "not going to address the core issue" which was the use of the female changing room by a "biological male trans woman".

Managers were also "motivated by their belief in the correctness" of their Transitioning in the Workplace policy and "their understanding of the legal rights of Rose", the panel said.

They did not expect the nurses to "go as far as they did" with their complaints and were "blind-sided by what came next", the judgement said.

In its judgement, the panel said the purpose of the Trust's Transitioning in the Workplace policy was "to create an environment that gave transgender employees comfort and reassurance that they would be accepted and supported in the workplace".

"This is an admirable and noble purpose," the panel said, adding: "All good employers will look to ensure that all its staff are treated with respect."

"We are only too aware that transgender people are vulnerable to exclusion, abuse, mistreatment, lack of respect and misunderstanding in society.

"Nothing we say in this judgement should detract from that or be seen as diminishing the values that the Trust espouses in supporting its transgender staff."

However, despite the "admirable purpose", it had the effect of "violating the dignity" of the nurses and of "creating for them a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment".

The BBC has contacted the County Durham and Darlington Trust press office to ask if Rose Henderson would want to provide comment or be interviewed about the Tribunal's findings.

The Trust has acknowledged the email.

We can bring you a bit more now from today’s 134-page long ruling.

It finds that no-one from management or HR had any discussion with Rose Henderson about the “appropriateness of using the female changing facilities” either during Rose’s time as a student or at any time after becoming an employee.

“From the outset and throughout, it was simply accepted by management that Rose would use the changing room of Rose’s choice as Rose was transgender," it says.

Lower down the report, it also adds that Rose was the only staff member who was a trans woman to use the changing room.

Image source, PA Media

We've just heard from the group of nurses who won a partial victory against County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust over their objection to allowing a transgender colleague to use a female changing room.

The ruling concluded that the nurses faced indirect discrimination and harassment which violated their dignity and created "a hostile, intimidating, humiliating and degrading environment for them".

What else did it find?

• The tribunal makes a distinction between the actions of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust and Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman, who was using the Trust's female changing room
• It does not criticise Rose for using facilities which the operating theatre practitioner felt were appropriate. However, it found by allowing Rose to do this, the hospital trust was discriminating against the nurses

• The trust was also found to have not taken the nurses' complaints seriously

• The tribunal concluded the claims of harassment made against Rose were not well founded
• "Rose was simply doing what the Trust permitted Rose to do, to act as, and to be treated as a trans woman which for all intents and purposes meant regarding Rose as a woman," the panel says
• And it dismissed the claims of victimisation against the trust

The group of nurses say they're "absolutely delighted" with the ruling and that they "never wanted to hurt Rose" in the process.

One of the nurses says she feels that she was gaslit by her NHS trust and made to feel that she was “such a terrible person for having the audacity to complain”.

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust says it is "reviewing the judgement carefully" before commenting on the ruling.

Asked how they feel about delays to the government bringing in official guidance, nurse Bethany Hutchison says "it's quite frustrating, isn't it".

"They're clearly dragging their feet, and they need to pick up the pace," she says. "It's not a difficult thing to work out."

• For context: The government has faced criticism over delays in publishing guidance on single-sex spaces. Bridget Phillipson said earlier this month this was because of the equalities watchdog's "slow" response to government requests for information.

The nurses go on to say that they have been told by other colleagues that Rose, their transgender colleague, has been assigned another changing room.

They say they found out through word of mouth, not by management.

We hear next from a lawyer representing the nurses, who describes her clients' "hard fought" battle "for something that is very obvious".

She calls the tribunal's decision "a victory for everyone who works in the NHS; for men and women".

Looking ahead, she says NHS policies must now be secure and safe for all employees.

This is something the nurses have asked of Health Secretary Wes Streeting and the minister for women and equalities, she continues.

"We don't need more cases about this," she says, explaining that she wants to see guidelines implemented quickly.

"I think we need to listen to women," says one of the nurses involved in the case. "We've experienced such a silencing - we weren't allowed to complain."

She says she feels that she was “gaslighted” by her NHS trust and made to feel that she was “such a terrible person for having the audacity to complain”.

“It’s wrong,” she adds.

“We feel like we’ve been penalised, that there’s been black marks put above our names, that we can’t progress within the NHS,” says another nurse at the news conference.

Dominic Hughes
Health correspondent

After an opening statement, the nurses are taking questions. Their relief and joy at the ruling is clear.

They say they never wanted to hurt Rose, their transgender colleague, born as man but now identifying as a woman, but it was the Trust that put Rose in that position.

The press conference with the Darlington nurses has just started - you can watch live at the top of this page.

One of the nurses, Bethany Hutchison, says that they "were hopeful that this would be the ruling".

"We're delighted, we're absolutely delighted with it," she says.

Dominic Hughes
Health correspondent

A news conference is about to start in Newcastle, where six of the seven Darlington nurses will give their reaction to the employment tribunal ruling.

They are all looking pretty relaxed and happy in the light of the broadly supportive ruling that found they were harassed by the Trust and discriminated against.

Photographers are busy grabbing snaps of them before the event begins.

You can watch live at the top of this page when it begins shortly.

The nurses had complained of Rose's conduct in the changing room, but the tribunal panel found their allegations to be unfounded.

"Rose was simply doing what the Trust permitted Rose to do, to act as, and to be treated as a trans woman which for all intents and purposes meant regarding Rose as a woman," the panel said.

"Whether Rose ought to have had more insight into the effect on female colleagues of having to change to their underwear in the presence of a biological male is another matter."

"It is likely that the lack of insight is wrapped up in Rose’s unwavering belief that their presence in the female changing room is no threat to anyone and that they are simply asserting their affirmed gender by going about the ordinary routine of getting changed in an environment which feels natural for Rose and which has the authority and permission of the Trust."

Later, the judgement adds: "It is a symptom of the fact that a biological male was in such close proximity with women who were or who might be in states of partial undress that has led, in our judgement, to various people holding these perceptions that Rose was staring or taking longer than normal.

"Where people were already anxious and concerned about Rose’s presence, as was the case of those who gave evidence on these things, any eye contact, or question is likely to be interpreted adversely."

Alison Holt
Social affairs editor

The judgement says that the Darlington nurses who brought the employment tribunal case faced indirect discrimination and harassment when their NHS trust allowed a trans woman to use a female only changing room.

The tribunal makes a distinction between the actions of the County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust and Rose Henderson, a biological male who identifies as a woman.

It does not criticise Rose, an operating theatre practitioner, for using facilities which they felt were appropriate. However, it found by allowing Rose to do this the hospital trust was discriminating against the nurses.

It says it had “the effect of violating the dignity” of the nurses and creating “a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment” for them. The trust was also found to have not taken their complaints seriously.

The tribunal concluded the claims of harassment made against Rose were not well founded and it dismissed the claims of victimisation against the trust.

The judgement makes clear its conclusions are rooted in last year’s Supreme Court ruling that when it comes to equalities law the definition of a woman is based on biological sex, rather than gender identity.

Image source, Christian Concern

One of the complaints made by the nurses was the putting up of a poster declaring the changing room to be an "inclusive changing space".

The tribunal heard it was not put up by NHS managers but rather by colleagues in support of Rose.

In its judgement, the panel said nobody knew for sure who displayed the poster but hospital managers acted quickly to remove it.

"A reasonable worker would have recognised it for what it was - a display of support for one side of the argument," the panel said, adding at "its highest"it would have provoked anger.

The nurses had claimed it was put up after they spoke publicly about Rose and an infringement of the equality act, but the tribunal said: "We conclude that the most likely explanation for the display was a misguided show of support for Rose as opposed to the fact that some of the claimants had spoken in the media."

The panel said the first media reports were done in May 2024 and the poster not put up until 1 July.

Image source, PA Media

We're now hearing from Bethany Hutchison, who is one of the nurses that just won a partial victory against County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust.

Hutchison, who is also the president of the Darlington Nursing Union, says today's judgement was a "victory for common sense and every woman who simply wants to feel safe at work".

She says women deserve access to single-sex spaces "without fear or intimidation" and "forcing us to undress in front of a man was not only degrading but dangerous".

Hutchison goes on to say the ruling was a "turning point" and "no woman should be forced to choose between her job and her safety".

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust says: "We are taking time to review the judgement carefully and will comment further once we have had the opportunity to consider it in full."

The judgement is 134 pages long so we are taking our time to go through it properly.

It was produced after a 16-day tribunal held in Newcastle in October and November last year which heard from 24 witnesses and also took into account some 4,500 pages of documentation.

We're still working our way through the full court document, but here is the tribunal's summary of their judgement:

The Judgment of the Tribunal is:

1. The complaints of harassment related to sex and/or gender reassignment are well founded in part and succeed to the extent set out in paragraph 1.1 and 1.2 of this judgment:

1.1 By requiring the Claimants to share a changing room with a biological male trans woman as pleaded in paragraph 23(a) of the Amended Particulars of Claim, the Respondent engaged in unwanted conduct related to sex and gender reassignment which had the effect of violating the dignity of the Claimants and creating for the Claimants a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment.

1.2 By not taking seriously and declining to address the Claimants’ concerns of August and September 2023 and of 04 April 2024, Case Number: 2501192/2024 & others 2 regarding that part of the Transition in the Workplace Policy that afforded biological males access to the female changing room, the Respondent engaged in unwanted conduct related to sex and gender reassignment which had the effect of creating for the Claimants a hostile and intimidating environment.

2. The complaints of indirect sex discrimination are well founded and succeed.

3. The complaints of harassment in so far as they relate to the use of the female changing room by and the conduct of Rose Henderson whilst so using the changing room as pleaded in paragraph 23(b) of the Amended Particulars of Claim, are not well founded and are dismissed.

4. The complaints of harassment in so far as they relate to the conduct of Rose Henderson outside the changing room as pleaded in paragraph 23(e) of the Amended Particulars of Claim are not well founded and are dismissed.

5. The complaints of harassment in so far as they relate to the conduct of the Respondent pleaded in paragraph 23(d), (f), (h, (i), (j) and (k) are not well founded and are dismissed.

6. The complaints of victimisation are not well founded and are dismissed.

7. This judgment is in respect of all claimants with the exception of Joanne Bradbury, whose claim is currently stayed.