- Conference
- 2009 Health Care Service Group Conference
- Date
- 11 December 2008
- Decision
- Carried
Conference notes that for a relatively small number of people, the gender they are assigned at birth does not match their internal sense of where they exist in relation to being female or male – their gender identity. Some transition to live permanently and completely in the gender with which they identify.
Conference further notes that transgender people, including those who work in our health services, fear high levels of prejudice and discrimination at work. Research carried out as part of the recent Government-sponsored Equalities Review found that employment was the most problematic area of trans people’s lives.
Conference welcomes the fact that the Gender Recognition Act 2004 gives people the opportunity to achieve full legal recognition for their acquired gender. People can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) after they have lived full-time for at least two years in their acquired gender.
Conference is concerned that this legal gender recognition procedure is misunderstood by some line-managers in the health service. What should be a new right for trans people can become a new obstacle to equality at work.
Some line managers and HR departments are demanding to see people’s gender recognition certificates before agreeing to change their name and gendered title on their employment records, payslips and so on. Conference notes that this is like asking to see your full driving licence before you can apply for a provisional license: People seeking legal gender recognition have to show the gender recognition panel that they have been attending work in their acquired gender for at least two years.
Conference notes that the English NHS Employers Guidance says:
‘The point of transition is personal to the individual and they should be supported by the organisation in making this transition. HR should liaise with the individual relating to the point of transition, for data and record keeping.’
This is not the reality for many of our trans health members.
Conference reaffirms UNISON’s policy that all trans people should be treated as the gender in which they are living, irrespective of their legal status. All have the right to respect for their gender identity, for their right to work with dignity, for their name and personal identity, for their privacy and confidentiality. Conference notes that gender recognition certificates should never be seen as ‘proof’ of gender reassignment and workers have no obligation to tell their employer whether or not they have one.
Conference welcomes the UNISON factsheet on bargaining for transgender workers rights and the new introductory guide for union reps supporting trans members.
Conference therefore instructs the health service group executive to:
(i)press for NHS employing organisations to train managers in the correct meaning and use of GRCs and in their legal duty to treat all workers with dignity and respect;
(ii)encourage and support branches to negotiate local policies on gender transition at work which reflect the NHS Employers guidance and UNISON’s best practice advice;
(iii)work with regional health committees and branches to inform reps on privacy, dignity and gender recognition issues for trans members, using the resources produced by UNISON’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender group for this purpose.