Trans Royal Mail worker wins sex discrimination payout

A transgender Royal Mail employee has been awarded compensation after being subjected to bullying, verbal abuse and physical assault. 

Sophie Cole was awarded £12,500 ($16,600) by an employment tribunal in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk, with the judge deciding that Royal Mail had failed to act on the complaints. 

The judge said the outcome of the case was perhaps the first in the UK since the Supreme Court ruled in April that the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of sex referred to “biological sex” and of a woman referred to a “biological woman.”

The claims for direct discrimination and harassment on grounds of gender reassignment were “successful in part”, the judge decided, and allegations of “direct discrimination on the grounds of sex” and “for harassment related to sex” succeeded for one allegation of each.

Cole, 46, from Cambridge, alleged she had been harassed by two colleagues regrading her sex and lodged a complaint with bosses. She claimed that an initial complaint about assault was ignored and led to further bullying and harassment. 

She told bosses that she felt singled out, was subjected to name calling, touching and physical assault. The bullying included colleagues “burping” at her and moving her van mirrors in a bid to get her into trouble. She also highlighted that they would stare at her and try to mimic her voice. 

Cole said at times the harassment led to her feeling “concerned” for her life and “really depressed”, and described the Royal Mail investigation as “a shambles”. 

She said the ruling was “a win for the transgender community,” adding that it “proves trans people can still win sex harassment claims in their real gender”.

Royal Mail said in a statement: “[We take] all allegations of harassment and discrimination seriously. We acknowledge the tribunal’s findings and are progressing the recommendations made as swiftly as possible.”

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