Trans Inclusion After the 2026 Statutory Code

What VCFSE Organisations should consider to remain inclusive

Following a blog published last week by Zel on the key general changes for charities following a change in the ECHR's Statutory Code, we now look specifically to ensure charities are well equipped to adapt and maintain inclusive policy and good practice for trans service users, volunteers and employees.

The central message is that the 2026 Code does not require organisations to abandon trans inclusion. It requires clarity about how services operate, evidence for restrictions and careful consideration of the rights, dignity and needs of everyone affected. Charities and other VCFSE organisations can continue to provide welcoming, respectful and safe environments while ensuring that any sex-based services or restrictions are lawful, justified and carefully managed.

Below are my key points on what the Code says and how organisations can still ensure dignity and respect is maintained for trans individuals.

Trans People Remain Protected by the Equality Act

Gender reassignment remains one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. As the Code states, a trans person is “protected against gender reassignment discrimination and harassment at any stage in their transition process” (2.39). Depending on their circumstances, non-binary and gender-fluid people may also meet the legal definition. People can also be protected where they are perceived to be trans, even if that perception is incorrect.

Trans people therefore continue to have rights concerning discrimination, harassment and victimisation when accessing services or participating in an association.

What VCFSE Organisations Can Continue to Do

Nothing in the Code prevents an organisation from expressing its commitment to trans inclusion.

Organisations can continue to:

• State that trans people are welcome

• Use the names and pronouns people ask to be known by

• Challenge transphobic bullying, abuse and harassment

• Provide mixed-sex or gender-inclusive services and activities

• Offer private or gender-neutral facilities where possible

• Include trans people in consultation and service design

• Provide staff, trustees and volunteers with trans-awareness training

• Maintain confidential and respectful records

• Signpost people to specialist support

When Services Need to Be Single Sex

Many community activities, support services, events and facilities can continue to operate on an inclusive or mixed-sex basis. A formally single-sex service can be provided only where the relevant Equality Act conditions are met and the arrangement is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This may be relevant to some services involving intimate care, undressing, communal accommodation, trauma or violence.

Where an organisation operates a lawful single-sex service, the Code says that admitting trans people of a different sex at birth would mean it was no longer a single-sex service for Equality Act purposes. However, trans people accessing said service are not obliged to disclose their sex at birth or gender identity, and "it is very unlikely to be proportionate to put a trans person in a position where there is no service that they are allowed to use" (13.148).

Restrictions Require Evidence

The Code requires organisations to balance the benefits of a restriction against the needs of people using the service and the effect on those excluded. It specifically asks providers to consider whether there is a “less intrusive option than excluding trans people” (13.120).

A general concern, speculative risk or individual objection should not automatically become an organisation-wide exclusion. When considering access to a single-sex service, the Code also indicates that restrictions affecting trans people may need to be assessed case by case.

Respect Privacy and Confidentiality

Trans people should not routinely be asked to disclose their sex, trans status, medical history or whether they have a Gender Recognition Certificate. Where information about sex is genuinely required, organisations should explain why, and the Code says any necessary request should be made “sensitively and discreetly” (13.165).

The Code also recognises that it is not always possible to determine someone’s sex from their appearance. It states that enquiries are unlikely to be appropriate for incidental facilities such as toilets and that no single official UK document always provides reliable evidence of biological sex, or sex at birth.

Prevent and Respond to Harassment

A trans-inclusive statement will have little value if people do not feel safe reporting poor treatment. Organisations should ensure that:

• Transphobic harassment is covered by conduct and complaints policies

• Staff, volunteers, trustees and members understand expected behaviour

• Complaints can be made confidentially

• Reports are investigated fairly and consistently

• Complainants are protected from victimisation

• Managers know when specialist advice is needed

People may hold different legally protected beliefs about sex and gender. However, holding a protected belief does not provide an automatic right to discriminate against or harass somebody else. Policies should distinguish between holding or expressing a belief and behaviour that undermines another person’s dignity or access to a service.

Involve Trans People in Policy Reviews

Policies affecting trans people should be informed by the experiences of those most likely to be affected. Organisations can improve decision-making by:

• Consulting trans staff, volunteers and service users

• Working with local LGBTQ+ organisations

• Providing confidential ways to contribute

• Completing an equality impact assessment

• Testing whether proposed alternatives are genuinely usable

• Reviewing the effect of policies after implementation

Consultation does not mean that one individual or group determines the final decision. It helps ensure that decisions reflect lived experience rather than assumptions about what trans people need or how other service users may respond.

What Trustees and Leaders Should Do Next

Trustees and senior leaders should ask:

1. Are any of our services unnecessarily described or operated as single sex?

2. Can we explain the legal basis and evidence for every sex-based restriction?

3. Have we assessed the effect of those restrictions on trans people?

4. Could inclusive or mixed-sex provision be offered alongside a single-sex service?

5. Does everyone have access to safe and dignified facilities?

6. Are requests for information about sex necessary, private and proportionate?

7. Do staff and volunteers know how to respond respectfully?

8. Have trans people been included in relevant policy reviews?

Further information is available in the EHRC Statutory Code of Practice and through TransActual’s Know Your Rights resource. TransActual currently notes that its page is being reviewed following the 2026 Code, so it should be read alongside the final Code and current specialist advice.

Organisations, trustees or sector leaders looking for support with policy and good practice following these changes are free to contact us at info@wcvs.org.uk