Britain's biggest bank pledges 'solidarity' with transgender staff after Supreme Court ruling
Lloyds Bank executives say they will support their colleges during "this very tough time" after the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.
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Britain's biggest bank has backed their transgender staff members, promising "solidarity" and "support".
This comes as the UK’s highest court unanimously ruled that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act “refer to a biological woman and biological sex”.
The dispute centred on whether someone with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the UK 2010 Equality Act.
Businesses have been left to grapple with the implications of this ruling on female and transgender spaces.
Andrew Walton, Lloyds’s chief corporate affairs director, wrote on the bank's intranet: “Thought I would come on here today with a note of support for our trans and non-binary colleagues on what I know will be an unsettling day following the UK Supreme Court decision,”
The message, seen by The Telegraph, were sent on the Lloyd's Rainbow network - a group for LGBTQ+ staff members.
“Please know that we cherish and celebrate you and we remain committed to inclusivity. If you’re a line manager, please be mindful of the potential impact on members of your team and be available to them. We are here to listen and support," Mr Walton wrote.
Read More: Teachers ‘concerned’ for pupils after Supreme Court ruling on definition of a woman
Sharon Doherty, the chief people and places officer at Lloyds, wrote back: "Very well said ... Standing in solidarity at this very tough time.”
Mr Walton and Ms Doherty sit on the 14-person executive committee for Lloyds Bank.
Lloyds Bank declined to comment, reported The Telegraph.
Previously, the bank offered free counselling to 30,000 employees after comments made at the Conservative Party conference in October 2023.
"A man is a man, and a woman is a woman; that’s just common sense," Rishi Sunak, then prime minster, said.
Then, Sarah Underhill, then human resources director at Lloyds Bank, said in an email she was "appalled to hear the rhetoric coming from the Conservative Party conference this week, targeting the trans and non-binary community".
"Hearing language that fuels hate and division is shocking. To all our trans and non-binary colleagues, please know that at Lloyds Banking Group you are not alone. You are valued. You are welcome here," she wrote.
In a ruling on Wednesday, five justices ruled that a GRC does not change a trans person’s legal sex under the Equality Act.
Delivering the judgment Lord Hodge said the “central question” is how the words “woman” and “sex” are defined in the 2010 legislation.
He continued: “The terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.”