Transgender action plan

You can use our transgender action plan to set out the steps that you’ll need to consider taking when supporting an employee who is transitioning.

Managing the process

Our Transgender Equality Policy sets out how you prevent discrimination against transgender staff in the workplace and how you support such individuals and it includes a specific section on the support available for an employee who is transitioning at work. This section envisages the development of a confidential action plan to manage the transitioning process, so this is where our Transgender Action Plan comes in. Our action plan should be developed and completed by the employee’s line manager in full consultation with the employee as it’s essential that the employee expressly agrees to any actions proposed to be taken. This is because transitioning is a private matter for the employee and so their wishes have to be paramount. It covers such issues as:

• time off work, how any time off will be managed and on what basis it will be granted - the time off required will depend on the nature and extent of the treatment that the employee is undergoing
• a date when the employee will present at work in their new identity
• their new name, title and pronoun - you might also want to consider including the option of the gender-neutral title Mx in your IT systems and personnel records
• dress codes and uniform requirements
• possible temporary or permanent changes to the employee’s role to support them for the period of transition – but never pressure them to change roles
• when and how others should be informed of the employee’s transition, who will be told, who will tell them, what they will be told and what specific information they should be given - communicating the transition to others must be led by the employee
• trans equality training for staff
• dealing with bullying or harassment of the employee – rely on your Dignity at Work Policy here
• changes to electronic and paper employment records.

Finally, our action plan envisages having regular review meetings with the employee to manage the process. These meetings also enable the plan to be amended as things change.