Discover how the recent UK Supreme Court judgment will reshape HR practices, compliance, and inclusion efforts across organisations.

Understanding the Supreme Court Judgment: What it Means for HR – And What You Need to Do About It

The UK Supreme Court’s decision in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers has changed how 'sex' is interpreted in law. It confirms that under the Equality Act 2010, 'sex' now means biological sex — not gender identity.

That means that, legally, a ‘woman’ is a biological female and a ‘man’ is a biological male. This shift matters deeply for HR, especially where your policies involve single-sex spaces, monitoring, or protections.

Why This Matters for Your Workplace

If you’re in HR, legal compliance just moved. Facilities labelled ‘single-sex’ must now refer to biological sex, not gender identity. So, if your workplace has women-only toilets, changing rooms or services, these are now, legally, for biological women only — unless you make clear, proportionate, and lawful adjustments.

But inclusivity still matters. The Equality Act still protects trans people from discrimination. That means you must ensure that trans employees aren’t treated less favourably or subjected to harassment as a result of any changes you make.

Tangible Actions for HR Teams

1. Audit all policies and facilities
Start with toilets, changing rooms, and any services or roles reserved for a specific sex. Clarify whether they’re single-sex by biological sex or inclusive — and update your signage and communications accordingly. Use an equality impact assessment to evidence your decision-making.

2. Create clearly defined alternatives
Introduce gender-neutral or accessible facilities that are comparable in quality to single-sex spaces. These should be offered without singling out trans employees or making them feel excluded.

3. Update your training and internal comms
Help your people understand what the judgment means and what it doesn’t. It’s about legal clarity — not a licence for exclusion or division. Managers should be equipped to handle difficult conversations compassionately and lawfully.

4. Review monitoring forms and language

5. HR systems that ask about ‘sex’ need to reflect this legal definition. If you also ask about gender identity, be clear why, and offer space for employees to self-identify respectfully.

6. Work with your DEI leads or networks
Engage employees and staff networks in co-designing inclusive solutions. Involving people builds trust and gives you insight into what really matters for your workforce.

What Could Go Wrong – and How to Prevent It

• Legal risk from indirect discrimination
  If trans employees feel excluded or stigmatised, you risk discrimination claims under the Gender Reassignment protected characteristic. Mitigation: Offer comparable, inclusive facilities and be able to justify your policy under the law.

• Damage to reputation and employee trust
  Mishandled communication can spiral into a PR issue or internal conflict. Mitigation: Be clear, kind, and consistent. Communicate proactively and ensure staff can ask questions safely.

• Policy-practice gaps
  Having a policy is one thing – living it is another. If staff apply new rules inconsistently, you risk claims of harassment or bullying. Mitigation: Provide live training, not just e-learning, and use real-life scenarios to practise responses.

Supporting Employees Through Transition

Change creates uncertainty. It’s crucial that all staff – especially those most affected – feel supported. This could mean:

• Offering access to confidential support or counselling.

• Setting up peer groups or lived-experience-led sessions.

• Ensuring every manager knows how to handle concerns about facilities or policies with empathy, confidentiality, and accuracy.

When I supported an organisation through a complex HR restructure, it became clear that policies don’t land without compassion. One-to-one conversations, co-design, and lived experience stories helped turn legal compliance into cultural safety.

How ThinkGlobal HR Can Help

Our sister company ThinkEDI is built for moments like this. Our AI-powered Business Informatics System gives employees a private, judgement-free space to share what they need — and helps HR leaders see patterns early, before small issues grow.

Our AI agents support real-time wellbeing, signpost helpful resources, and capture anonymous trends around policy changes, facility use, and cultural confidence.

When the law changes, it's easy to get lost in the fear of getting it wrong. But with the right data, clarity, and care, you can get it right — not just legally, but humanly.

Let’s build workplaces that are both lawful and kind.