NHS Trust reverses changing-room policy following legal battle

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has amended its Uniform and Dress Code Policy to require staff to use changing facilities according to their biological sex. This decision follows a three-year legal dispute initiated by seven female nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital who sought single-sex changing spaces.

The revised policy states that staff must use changing spaces based on biological sex, while providing alternative unisex spaces for those who choose not to use the sex-segregated facilities. This change aligns the Trust with a 2025 UK Supreme Court ruling which clarified that the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex.

The legal battle, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, resulted in an employment tribunal ruling in favor of the nurses. The Trust has since apologized and paid £187,000 in damages to the claimants. Total costs, including the Trust’s own legal fees, are reported to exceed £1.2 million.