Darlington nurses involved in a landmark tribunal over transgender changing room access say it is a “victory for women” after being awarded £187,000 in damages.
The payout follows their employment tribunal victory earlier this year, when a panel found County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust had subjected the nurses to harassment and indirect sex discrimination over its handling of concerns about a transgender colleague using female changing facilities.
The Trust has also issued a formal apology to each of the nurses as part of the settlement and has committed to changes around single-sex changing, washing and toilet facilities.
Bethany Hutchison, president of the Darlington Nursing Union and one of the nurses involved in the case, said the outcome was "not just a victory for the claimants, but for women across the country".
She said: “We have done this, not just for ourselves, but for our colleagues who were too afraid or unable to speak up, and for every woman and girl in the country.
“We raised our concerns because we believed something was seriously wrong, not just for us, but for the protection of all women in the NHS.
“Instead of being listened to, we were ignored, labelled, and subjected to pressure and intimidation.
“This outcome is a vindication of our stand for dignity, privacy, and common sense.
“We hope it ensures that no woman is ever again made to feel unsafe in her workplace for speaking the truth.”
The case was brought by seven nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital: Bethany Hutchison, Lisa Lockey, Karen Danson, Tracy Hooper, Annice Grundy, Carly Hoy and Jane Peveller.
The dispute centred on the Trust’s policy of allowing transgender colleague Rose Henderson, who was born male but identifies as a woman, to use the female staff changing room.
The employment tribunal found the Trust had unlawfully required the nurses to share a changing room with a biological male trans woman without providing a suitable alternative.
However, the tribunal also made clear Ms Henderson was not personally to blame for the situation and dismissed allegations of harassment against her personally.
The £187,000 damages figure does not include legal costs, which are still to be decided at a further hearing.
The Christian Legal Centre, which represented the nurses, said the figure also does not include the Trust’s own legal costs, which it said to stand at £603,000 and counting.
Chief Executive of the NHS Trust, Steve Russell, said: "We have accepted and respected the Tribunal's findings from the outset and have carefully considered what they mean for our organisation.
"We recognise that the approach taken should have been different, and we regret the impact this had on the colleagues involved. We have repeated our apology directly to those affected.
“Following the judgment, we issued updated guidance and developed unisex facilities to ensure that single sex facilities are used based on biological sex. Whilst this complies with the judgment, we want to further improve changing facilities for all colleagues. We also have to acknowledge the impact these changes have had on some of our other colleagues.
"Our focus now is on moving forward, continuing to support our colleagues and ensuring our policies, facilities and practices reflect both our legal responsibilities and our commitment to providing an inclusive workplace for everyone. We are also currently considering the recently updated EHRC guidance.”
As part of the agreement, the Trust has committed to providing changing facilities, washing facilities and sanitary conveniences separately between biological men and biological women.
The Trust has withdrawn its “Transitioning in the Workplace” policy, including version 3.0 and all previous versions.
The Trust has also agreed to provide suitable training to management staff based on lessons learned from the case and tribunal judgment.
However, campaigners said the Trust has refused to rule out taking disciplinary action against the nurses for speaking publicly about their case, despite the tribunal finding that going to the media was a protected act under equality law.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, described the outcome as a "landmark victory".
She said: “This is a landmark victory for these courageous nurses who refused to back down despite extraordinary pressure from an NHS that has fought with everything it has to allow men into women’s changing rooms and to trample over biological reality.
“The evidence exposed during the trial revealed a deeply concerning culture within the Trust, where safeguarding concerns were minimised, and women were marginalised.
“The law is clear: employers must protect the rights, dignity, and safety of their staff.
“This case sends a powerful message across the NHS and beyond that ideology cannot override those fundamental duties.”
The case began in July 2023, when female nurses raised concerns with management after saying they had been required, without warning or consultation, to share changing facilities with Ms Henderson.
The nurses said about 300 women needed access to the changing room, including teenage female staff.
In March 2024, 26 nurses formally wrote to the Trust raising concerns about privacy, dignity, cultural sensitivity and the experiences of women who had suffered abuse.
They said their concerns were brushed aside and that staff were told they needed to “broaden their mindset”, “be educated”, “compromise” and “be more inclusive”.
The case attracted national attention, including support from JK Rowling, and led to the nurses meeting Health Secretary Wes Streeting in October 2024.
During the tribunal hearing, the panel heard evidence about the Trust’s handling of the nurses’ concerns, its policies, its response to complaints and the temporary alternative changing arrangements put in place.
The nurses said they were made to use a temporary changing area after raising concerns, while Ms Henderson continued to use the female changing room.
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In its judgment, the tribunal said that requiring the claimants to share a changing room with a biological male trans woman had the "effect of violating their dignity and creating a hostile, humiliating and degrading environment".
The tribunal upheld complaints of harassment related to sex and/or gender reassignment in part, and upheld complaints of indirect sex discrimination.
But it dismissed complaints of victimisation and rejected allegations that Ms Henderson had personally harassed the nurses through her own conduct.
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