Over 650 UK businesses unite against proposed ban on trans access to single-sex spaces
– 2 min read
A coalition of more than 650 UK businesses and organisations has publicly opposed draft guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that could see trans people barred from accessing single-sex spaces such as toilets and changing rooms. The move follows a Supreme Court ruling in April that defined “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 as referring exclusively to biological sex.
The EHRC’s draft code of practice, submitted to Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson earlier this month, is expected to instruct schools, hospitals, leisure centres, and cinemas to exclude trans women from women-only facilities. Though the final document has not yet been made public, leaked details have sparked widespread concern across the business community.
In a strongly worded open letter coordinated by Trans+ Solidarity Alliance and Safe Space UK, signatories including major brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, Lush Cosmetics, Lucy & Yak and hundreds of small businesses, cultural venues, and non-profits, warned that the proposals are “unworkable,” “incompatible with modern business values,” and pose “significant economic harm”.
The letter states: “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.”
Businesses also expressed concern over being forced into the role of “gender police,” with staff potentially required to ask intrusive questions or demand documentation about a person’s birth sex. Such practices, they argue, would breach Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to privacy.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) warned that compliance with the guidance could lead to costly retrofitting of facilities or conversion to gender-neutral spaces, threatening their financial viability. Clare Reddington, CEO of Bristol’s Watershed, noted that many cultural venues housed in older buildings simply cannot afford such changes.
Jude Guaitamacchi, founder of Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, said: “The EHRC’s draft fails to respect trans people’s human rights and would make the UK an international outlier. Hundreds of businesses, large and small, have signed this letter to tell politicians to fix this mess before they are forced into conflict with their own values.”
The letter calls on the government to reject the EHRC’s draft and prevent the proposals from moving forward. As the Equalities Minister reviews the guidance, the business community’s unified stance adds significant pressure to reconsider the implications of the proposed changes.
