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An employment tribunal has determined that hospital management at Darlington Memorial Hospital breached the dignity of a group of female nurses who raised concerns over a transgender woman’s use of their single-sex changing room. The case involved eight nurses who alleged they were unfairly treated by their superiors after objecting to Rose Henderson, a transgender woman assigned male at birth, accessing the female-only changing facilities. The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust defended their position, asserting that the nurses had wrongly vilified Henderson and that their policy complied with existing guidelines.
The dispute centered around a policy allowing transgender employees to use facilities matching their gender identity. Since 2019, Rose Henderson, an operating department practitioner, had been using the changing room. Complaints from female nurses in the day surgery unit arose in August 2023, with 26 staff members signing a letter expressing concerns about her presence and behavior in the shared space. Henderson denied allegations of inappropriate conduct, including claims of staring while women changed, which she described as false.
While the tribunal recognized that the trust’s intention behind the policy was “admirable and noble,” the ruling criticized the impact on the nurses, stating the environment created was “hostile, humiliating and degrading.” The panel, led by employment judge Seamus Sweeney, concluded that the trust harassed and discriminated against the nurses by forcing them to share a changing room with a “biological male trans woman” and failing to adequately address their concerns. However, the claims against Henderson herself were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.
The judgement further highlighted that management did not seriously contemplate whether the policy might discriminate against female employees. The nurses felt ignored and branded as troublemakers when raising their issues. Although it would have been reasonable to ask Henderson to use alternative facilities, this option was never seriously considered. Instead, the trust created a small separate changing area for those objecting. Nurses involved expressed relief and satisfaction with the ruling; Bethany Hutchison, one of the plaintiffs, called it a “victory for common sense,” while Lisa Lockey emphasized the need to “listen to women.” The trust said it was reviewing the decision, and Rose Henderson declined to comment
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