THE UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) legal guidance on the implications of the Supreme Court’s gender ruling has been branded "harsh, authoritarian and cruel" by the Scottish Greens.
On Friday evening, the EHRC published guidance which states it is “compulsory” for workplaces to offer single-sex toilets and changing facilities.
It comes after the UK Supreme Court sided with the campaign group For Women Scotland, saying that a gender recognition certificate does not entitle a trans person to be considered their acquired sex under the 2010 Equality Act. The court ruled that, in the act, sex is biological.
The Scottish Government previously called on the EHRC to issue updated guidance on the impact of the court's decision.
Shortly after 8pm on Friday, the commission published an “interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment”.
The EHRC said that the ruling means that in UK law “a trans woman is a biological man” and a “trans man is a biological woman”.
We have shared an interim update on the practical implications of the Supreme Court’s judgment in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers: https://t.co/NgyutUBn0F pic.twitter.com/7w2wpy9EZQ
— EHRC (@EHRC) April 25, 2025
The statement said: “In workplaces, it is compulsory to provide sufficient single-sex toilets, as well as sufficient single-sex changing and washing facilities where these facilities are needed.
“It is not compulsory for services that are open to the public to be provided on a single-sex basis or to have single-sex facilities such as toilets.
“These can be single-sex if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim and they meet other conditions in the act. However, it could be indirect sex discrimination against women if the only provision is mixed-sex.”
The EHRC went on: “In workplaces and services that are open to the public: trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities and trans men (biological women) should not be permitted to use the men’s facilities, as this will mean that they are no longer single-sex facilities and must be open to all users of the opposite sex.
“In some circumstances the law also allows trans women (biological men) not to be permitted to use the men’s facilities, and trans men (biological woman) not to be permitted to use the women’s facilities.
“However where facilities are available to both men and women, trans people should not be put in a position where there are no facilities for them to use.
“Where possible, mixed-sex toilet, washing or changing facilities in addition to sufficient single-sex facilities should be provided.
“Where toilet, washing or changing facilities are in lockable rooms (not cubicles) which are intended for the use of one person at a time, they can be used by either women or men.”
'Harsh, authoritarian and cruel'
The Scottish Greens have said the guidance is “deeply troubling”, arguing that it goes further than the Supreme Court ruling in “introducing new uncertainties rather than providing clarity.
The party's co-leader Patrick Harvie said: “This guidance is harsh, authoritarian and cruel. It is the polar opposite of what an equality and human rights body should be doing, and it’s deeply troubling to see the rights of some of the most marginalised people in our society being rolled back so easily.
“This guidance raises far more questions than answers, for trans people, for anyone who doesn’t fit with widespread gender norms, and for people who run businesses, social groups and workplaces.
“Trans people just want to be able to live their lives like anybody else, without the fear of prejudice, discrimination or violence.
“The EHRC appears to be going even further than the Supreme Court judgement did and is introducing new uncertainties rather than providing clarity.
“We must not allow the UK Government or anyone else to take a wrecking ball to longstanding rights or to remove all protections from a community that is already under fire.
“The demonisation of trans people by politicians and large parts of the media echoes the homophobic rhetoric we heard in the 1980s and 90s.
“It is a very worrying time and a lot of people are scared. But I want to remind everyone that the forces of prejudice were defeated before, and they can be defeated again.
“The Scottish Greens will continue to stand up for trans and non-binary people’s rights today, tomorrow and always.”
