Letter to Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Jonathan Reynolds) and the Minister for Women and Equalities (Bridget Phillipson)

Dear Secretary of State for Business and Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities, 

We, the undersigned businesses and organisations, are writing to express our deep concern at proposals seeking to enforce blanket, mandatory exclusion of trans people from gendered spaces and services.

The proposals made in the EHRC's draft Code of Practice to the Equality Act would have serious and far-reaching consequences for UK businesses, our employees, and our customers. Any final code similar to this draft would tell organisations that we must adopt practices that are incompatible with modern business values, create unworkable operational challenges, and cause significant economic harm. 

Conflict with business values

Many of us have spent years building inclusive environments where all customers and staff feel safe and welcome. These proposals would tell us to act in ways that directly contradict those commitments; undermining trust, damaging reputations, and risking the loss of valued staff and customers. They are rooted in an assumption that trans people are a threat and that exclusion is the only acceptable outcome. This framing is both harmful and disconnected from the lived reality of the communities in which we operate. Exclusion of anybody should be a last resort, done only where it is proportionate for legitimate reasons which will be different for each individual organisation, not made blanket and mandatory.

Legal and operational risks

If enacted, the proposals would place organisations at constant risk of complaints and litigation from multiple directions. They seek to force business staff into the unacceptable role of “gender police”, told to ask intrusive questions or demand documentation about a person’s birth sex. Such practices are not only deeply invasive, but likely impossible to implement without breaching Article 8 of The Human Rights Act, which protects rights to privacy, and risking discriminating against valued trans customers and colleagues. The lack of clarity on when and how organisations can remain trans inclusive would leave every business vulnerable, with each one effectively becoming a test case waiting to happen.

Significant cost burden

For many, compliance would mean costly changes to facilities, such as retrofitting spaces or converting them entirely to gender-neutral provision. For small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, this financial burden could be severe and would threaten economic viability for some. Compliance costs with this would have a significant impact on businesses across the country, which many can ill-afford. 

Wider economic damage

The UK’s reputation as a welcoming place for all is already under strain. Similar measures introduced in the US state of North Carolina in 2016 triggered boycotts, the cancellation of major events, and a UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office travel advisory for LGBTQ+ travellers. These changes would only worsen the situation for the UK, impacting tourism, trade, and investment.

Our position

We urge the Secretary of State for Business and Minister for Women and Equalities to take immediate action to prevent these proposals from moving forward. Our success depends on inclusion, fairness, economic viability and a strong reputation. These proposals are discriminatory, impractical, and economically damaging. They would harm business confidence, create unnecessary legal exposure, and undermine the values that make the UK competitive in a global market and allow businesses small and large to thrive and be trusted by our communities. 

This Government has the power to stop this. We stand for workplaces and public spaces where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. This is not only a moral imperative but also a practical necessity for a sustainable and thriving economy.

Yours Sincerely,
Strath Union