Related Articles
A transgender postal worker awarded £12,500 after being bullied by colleagues has achieved what is thought to be a legal first after a judge deemed her a ‘female victim’.
Sophie Cole, 46, was able to prove one perpetrator ‘deemed’ her to be a woman and that Royal Mail had failed to respond appropriately to the claims of bullying.
An employment tribunal judge ruled that she had been discriminated against and harassed on the basis of sex despite not being born a biological woman.
This was despite the Supreme Court’s decision in April transgender women could not be victims of harassment for their sex ‘as a woman’.
The Supreme Court had also stated that ‘as a matter of ordinary language’ cases relating to sex discrimination can ‘only be interpreted’ as referring to biological women.
But Ms Cole – who claims many people do not realise she is transgender – says she feels vindicated after the employment judge concluded she had been discriminated against because at least one person perceived her as being female.
The ex-Royal Mail worker, from Cambridge, claimed she was singled out, called names, touched, physically assaulted and had her car spat on.
She later said that after a delay in her verdict, caused by her tribunal judge seeking clarification around the ruling, she felt vindicated its interpretation allowed part of her claim to proceed.
Sophie Cole (pictured), 46, was able to prove one perpetrator ‘saw [her] as a woman’ and that Royal Mail had failed to take disciplinary action
Ms Cole, from Cambridge , claimed she was singled out, called names, touched, physically assaulted and had her car spat on
Ms Cole said: ‘I think I’m good looking as a girl and many people I meet don’t realise I am trans. I generally didn’t have too many issues and outside of work no one really gives me problems.
‘The final Supreme Court ruling said you could only be classed on a legal basis by your birth gender.
‘On that basis I was told I could not have suffered harassment for my sex as a woman as the law doesn’t see me as one.
‘However after deliberation and going off to speak to other judges, she made it clear that if an individual “deemed” me to be a woman when they harassed me, I could be listed as a “female victim”.
‘She went out on a limb, which I’m very grateful for, and it is believed to be the first case won under that basis.’
Ms Cole’s case began when she made a complaint about an ‘assault’ by a colleague she says was ‘ignored’ and led to further bullying and harassment.
Following a hearing in Bury St Edmunds, Employment Judge King ruled her claim for direct discrimination and harassment on grounds of gender reassignment were ‘successful in part’.
She also ruled her discrimination and harassment related to sex ‘succeeds on one allegation’ after Ms Cole proved one of the two colleagues ‘saw me as a woman’.
The £12,500 rewarded included a 25 per cent uplift for failing to follow the ACAS code of practice in respect of her grievances.
Recommendations were also made for the training and mediation for a number of named employees.
Ms Cole joined Royal Mail in 2017 and spent most of her time working in the collections team.
Crowds of people cheered and broke into song after the Supreme Court ruling on how to define a ‘woman’ was handed down
Marion Calder (centre), Helen Joyce (centre left) and Maya Forstater (left) celebrate outside the Supreme Court on April 16, 2025
In her witness statement she outlined the basis of her treatment that led to her raising concerns with bosses.
She said she had been assaulted and had her car vandalised with ‘ongoing events to distress me.’
These included ‘burping at me, moving my van mirrors to get me in trouble for not driving a vehicle safely.’
She also said a colleague would ‘stand over my car staring at me when I left work and while working in the bay area.
Ms Cole claimed the colleague would ‘mimic’ her voice in a falsetto tone and said she was also verbally abused by other staff.
But when she raised the issue with Royal Mail she said nothing was done, they didn’t take her grievance seriously and tried to brush off her concerns.
Speaking after the verdict, Ms Cole said: ‘I know not everyone is pro trans and I am not looking for supporters.
‘I am just trying to live my life and did not do anything to provoke any of this. But my life was made extremely difficult on a daily basis.
‘It dragged out for a year and I was concerned for my life at times. I was physically assaulted and constantly abused and targeted. It made me really depressed.
‘I was able to prove in court I had not done anything and there was nothing I could have done differently.
‘I did expect Royal Mail to be a safe haven of a company. I was an ex-financial advisor for a bank. I took a massive pay cut to join Royal Mail and felt I should have been safe at a big organisation.’
Ms Cole claimed the colleague would ‘mimic’ her voice in a falsetto tone and said she was also verbally abused by other staff
Ms Cole said she followed all ‘correct procedures’ to deal with incidents but claims Royal Mail ‘did not wish to engage in conversation or to find a resolution.’
She added: ‘The Royal Mail investigation was a shambles. It was dropped as they had a chat with my colleague who said he didn’t do these things. Especially because I was transgender. But they just did whatever they could to quash it.
‘Royal Mail had more than enough chances to deal with this in a professional manner.
‘I was being treated horrifically, but they dropped the case against him completely and tried to blame me.
‘They then tried to strong arm me into dropping the case.’
Ms Cole revealed she no longer works with the main colleague involved anymore after he was moved to another depot.
She added: ‘We have not had the mediation yet but I have been paid the award. On a day to day basis nothing has really been made different but they have six months to do the training.
‘I do love my job and have mixed emotions. I was really worried and stressed going to court and was concerned how much I would be belittled.
‘I was told to drop the case on numerous occasions and that I was never going to win it.
‘But I did feel good and listened to by the court. I genuinely thought the judge was brilliant. It felt like the first time anyone was taking it seriously. I hope this has been a wake up call for the company and things will now change.’
Ms Cole said she was very young when she knew she wanted to be a woman.
‘Trans was not a word I knew, but I realised I wanted to be girl aged around three.
‘I started to live as a woman around early 2016 and had a couple of surgeries around 2018.
‘I have tried to be an advocate for trans people in the work environment.’
Royal Mail said in a statement: ‘Royal Mail takes all allegations of harassment and discrimination seriously.
‘We acknowledge the tribunal’s findings and are progressing the recommendations made as swiftly as possible.’
Source link
