Template email to raise concerns about workplace changing rooms

Subject: Request for review of workplace changing-rooms policy

Dear [Manager’s name / Human resources department]

I am writing to raise concerns about the [current / proposed] provision of changing rooms in our workplace. I do so with the intention of seeking clarity and ensuring our compliance with legal obligations.

Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers are required to provide “suitable and sufficient” changing facilities for workers where it is necessary to wear special clothing for work and to remove more than outer clothing. This requirement includes providing separate facilities for men and women. Accordingly, there is a requirement to provide a separate women’s changing room in all situations except where there are adequate lockable individual changing rooms of sufficient capacity and provided with seating. These obligations are not optional and are legally binding. 

The Equality Act 2010 protects employees from discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex and belief. The UK Supreme Court clarified in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers (April 2025) that “single-sex” means biological sex. This position has been reinforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and has direct implications for how workplace changing rooms are designated and used.

• Facilities marked as single-sex must be restricted to people of that biological sex.
• Permitting use based on gender identity invalidates single-sex provision. As a result, employers which permit this are not compliant with their obligations under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
• Trans individuals must be provided for but not at the expense of removing single-sex access for others.
• Employers should ensure they have a lawful, clear, and consistently applied policy.

To support this, I am attaching a factsheet outlining employer responsibilities under UK law.

I am aware of current workplace [policies] [and training] that state that individuals may use facilities based on gender identity rather than biological sex. This undermines the lawful provision of single-sex facilities, and is a breach of Regulation 24 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. 

I believe that this should be reviewed in the light of current legislation, building regulations and case law including Earl Shilton Town Council v Miller, which found that forcing women to share space with male colleagues in inadequate facilities amounted to direct sex discrimination. It is also indirectly discriminatory, and creates a hostile working environment for women.

I am concerned about [insert specific issue: the relabelling of single-sex changing rooms as gender-neutral, the removal of separate male and female changing rooms, ambiguous signage]. This creates uncertainty and anxiety for many employees, particularly women and religious minorities, and breaches legal requirements.

I respectfully request that [company name]:

• reviews its policies and signage relating to changing rooms use
• confirms that single-sex facilities are designated for use based on biological sex only
• considers whether an equality impact assessment has been completed
• ensures that any unisex or “gender-neutral” facilities are additional and are fully enclosed and clearly marked.

I am aware that since the Supreme Court ruling and the EHRC’s updated guidance, there has been a significant amount of public disinformation from organisations such as Stonewall and the Good Law Project suggesting that the ruling is not yet the law or the guidance is unlawful. These claims are inaccurate and the legal position is that while trans individuals are protected under the characteristic of gender reassignment, the lawful provision of single-sex spaces based on biological sex is both permitted and in many cases required. 

It is essential that workplace policies are based on the law and not on ideological misinformation.

I hope this matter can be addressed informally in the first instance, but I reserve the right to escalate the concern through formal grievance channels if necessary.

I have attempted to resolve this informally by [briefly state what steps you’ve taken, such as “raising the issue with my manager on [date]”], but the matter remains unresolved. I am therefore submitting this letter as a formal grievance under the organisation’s grievance policy.

I look forward to a written response within seven days or in accordance with the company’s procedures. Please let me know if you require any further information or would like to arrange a meeting.