Goods, Facilities & Services

Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008

The Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008 came into effect on 06 April 2008 and fulfil the UK Government’s obligation to implement the Gender Directive (2004/113/EC) which was already in force elsewhere in Europe. The regulations amend the Sex Discrimination Act to make it unlawful to directly discriminate against someone who ‘intends to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone gender reassignment’ in the provision of goods, facilities or services. 

Please note that the information available here represents the Scottish Transgender Alliance's understanding of the situation, but we are not a legal advice service and do not have qualifications in law. We strongly recommend that a solicitor should be consulted before taking any significant decision relating to the law described here.

The regulations cover public, private and voluntary sector provision of goods, facilities and services. For example, using social work and health services, access to sports facilities, service in a shop or pub, staying in a guest house, attending a local community group, etc. However, because of the way the European level gender directive was created, the regulations do not cover school education services. (Transphobic discrimination in post-school education such as college and university can be tackled under the vocational education protections provided by the Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999.)

If a trans person believes that they may have been discriminated against by a provider of goods, facilities or services then they can take a civil case to the sheriff court. Complaints of discrimination must be made to the sheriff court within six months of the date the discrimination occurred. We recommend contacting the Equality and Human Rights Commission or a solicitor as soon as possible for advice if you have been discriminated against.

The law does not currently explicitly protect transgender people who are not intending to undergo gender reassignment. However, depending on circumstances it might be possible that courts would interpret the Sex Discrimination Act to protect from discrimination against cross-dressing, intersex or androgyne people for example, if the discrimination was because the person is transgender. If you are discriminated against in this way, we recommend contacting the Equality and Human Rights Commission for advice as you might have a strong test case.

Single-sex services:

The regulations allow single sex services, such as women’s organisations, to treat a trans man or trans woman differently from other men or women in limited circumstances only. The reason for this limited exception is that it is recognised that there may be some cases where it may not always be possible for a single-sex service provider to make their services available to a trans person in exactly the same manner as to a non-trans person. This may occur, for example, where someone is still only in the early stages of the process of gender reassignment or is presenting in more than one gender role and it is unclear whether the particular single-sex service can be provided to them in accordance with their birth sex or their acquired sex. Much will depend on the particular circumstances of each case.

To rely on such an exception, single-sex service providers will need to be able to point to a legitimate aim and demonstrate, in the circumstances of the particular case, why no less discriminatory alternatives of achieving that aim were available. Relevant factors which may need to be taken into account include the particular service being provided or the facilities available; the views of the trans person; the stage of transition of the trans person when they seek access to the service; and the impact on other users of the service.

The exception can be used to help enable trans people to get their needs met appropriately if they need to use a single-sex service in an unusual way. An example is that some trans men may still need gyneacological medical treatment despite having become legally male. Gyneacological health services are often provided via single-sex services. The legitimate aim could be to ensure the health and dignity of the trans man, and the exception could potentially be used to enable the trans man to be given the gyneacological examination via attendance at a different general mixed-sex medical clinic rather than making him endure the embarassment and potential public revelation that he is transsexual which could result if he were made to attend a standard single-sex gyneacology-specific women's clinic.

The exception is not designed to be used to enable women's organisations to refuse their services to trans women who have transitioned and been living full-time in their acquired gender for two years or more. Remember that in UK law, trans men and trans women are not required to undergo any particular surgeries in order to get full legal recognition as their acquired gender. The key factor for gender recognition is simply living permanently full-time in the acquired gender. The Scottish Transgender Alliance has been working closely with Scottish women's organisations to help them become inclusive of trans women as required by the new regulations.


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The Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008 also extended protection from harassment by explicitly making an employer liable if an individual is harassed by a third party (such as a member of the public using a service) during the course of employment, in circumstances where the employer knows that the person has been subjected to such harassment on at least two other occasions (whether by the same or a different third party) but has failed to take steps to prevent it.  The Sex Discrimination Act already provided protection from harassment by an employer or by other employees on grounds of sex and on grounds of gender reassignment.