Overview
- Closing submissions were heard in Newcastle, and the judge said no decision will be issued before Christmas.
- Seven day surgery nurses are suing Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust after colleague Rose Henderson was permitted to use the women's changing room under the trust's Transitioning In The Workplace policy.
- The nurses allege staring in the changing room, repeated questioning about why a colleague was not changing, and walking around in boxer shorts, and they bring claims including indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation and Article 8 breaches.
- For the trust, counsel argued the nurses exaggerated their accounts, said some secretly recorded work meetings that could constitute misconduct, and asserted media interviews exposed Rose’s private life and harmed mental health, describing Rose as demure and quietly spoken.
- For the claimants, counsel argued their complaints were buried by flawed investigations and that the policy disadvantaged biological females, while the lead nurse thanked the Christian Legal Centre for support and JK Rowling was reported as a backer.