Dear all,

NHS England has been silent since my employment tribunal win (LS v NHS England). I have not seen any announcements regarding a change in the trans staff policy.

My legal team have sent the following letter to NHS England at the end of May.

If any other NHS England employees feel they have been negatively affected by the policy and lack of single-sex facilities, could you please drop a message to Elizabeth McGlone at Didlaw or to myself - I am on Mumsnet with a username FayeRC and on X @FayeRCTribunal (you can private message me).

‘Dear Capsticks

LS v NHS England

Your client has now had an opportunity to digest the implications of the tribunal’s decision that its policy of letting staff use purportedly single-sex facilities on the basis of their gender identity has been found to be unjustified indirect sex discrimination against our client. Your client’s closing submissions contained this warning:

LS’s case is that, by definition, the Policy amounted to unjustifiable indirect discrimination. Irrespective of any legitimate aims, implementation of the Policy had to be disproportionate, when set against the disadvantage to women, Muslims and women suffering from PTSD. 

If that is correct, then – without more - every employer and service provider who ever had such a policy and who continues to have such a policy (such as every Government Department) is potentially liable for indirect discrimination. 

We do not disagree with that analysis: the policy would indeed seem to be unjustified sex discrimination against all your female staff. Individual awards for injury to feelings may in most cases be modest, but your client will be capable of doing the arithmetic to assess the level of risk posed by those potential claims in aggregate.

In the circumstances, we are surprised that your client has not yet announced a reversal of that policy. NHSE should make it clear to staff forthwith that facilities are to be accessed on the basis of biological sex, and that use of opposite-sex facilities will be treated as a disciplinary matter. Once it has done so, its female staff will have a limited period within which to bring their own complaints that the policy discriminated against them until it was withdrawn. By the time the announcement is 3 months old, your client will know the scale of any further claims, subject only to highly individual arguments about extension of time.

Your client’s continuing failure to take this step must now be taken to be deliberate sex discrimination against its female staff, including our client. In light of the dire warnings given in public by your own counsel, that failure is now also culpably reckless with public funds. Please ensure this letter receives attention at Board level. Questions of personal responsibility for the relevant decision-making may well need to be addressed in due course.

We look forward to hearing from you with your proposals as a matter of urgency.’

Dear all,

I am very pleased to announce that my complaints of indirect discrimination in relation to sex and harassment complaints in relation to sex and gender critical belief have been upheld by Leeds ET.

Please share the good news, more information is available at: https://didlaw.com/ls-v-nhse-england

I have been reading through the judgement today, feeling a mixture of relief, overwhelm and incredible jubilation.

Thank you for all your support, I could not have done this without you.

Thank you Naomi, Elizabeth and the team at Didlaw.

More updates will follow when I have had time to digest the good news.

(Donations are welcome still as there will be a remedy hearing in August.)

Yours,

Faye

Dear all,

Last week concluded my employment tribunal proceedings for now. If the judgement goes my way then there will be a two-day remedies session later in the year, including more witnessing on the impact and nature of remedies. Therefore I would be grateful for your support towards those legal costs, too.

There will be no court session on Monday because we ran well on time so the panel will be deliberating on Monday. However, we are expecting a reserved judgement with no exact set timing.

Cross examination was an intense experience. I will be enjoying the amazing spring weather and retreat to my allotment (the actual one, not Mumsnet code word for the crowdfunder).

I would like to thank Naomi Cunningham of Outer Temple, Elizabeth McGlone, Manuela de Castro and Beatrice Young of Didlaw for their fantastic work. I would also like to thank all my supporters for your donations, sharing on social media, commenting on X and Mumsnet and showing incredible support by attending the court hearing in person and by audio. Thank you.

Tribunal Tweets reported all the way through the cross examinations so you can read on that on X. I would like to thank the volunteers of TT as well, you do important work for open justice.

I will share updates once we have new developments.

Yours faithfully,

Faye

A correction to the below. Respondent have conceded substantial disadvantage to women, Muslim women, women with PTSD but not individual disadvantage. Proportionality still needs to be determined as does harassment. Muslim disadvantage (in general) has not been conceded.

If you would like to follow the case, Tribunal Tweets will be posting on X.

Dear all,

Two more days until the final tribunal hearing. It is scheduled to last from 16 March until 23 March 2026. I am bringing the following complaints:

• Indirect discrimination relating to sex (woman)
• Indirect discrimination relating to religion (Islam)
• Indirect discrimination relating to disability (PTSD)
• Harassment relating to sex
• Harassment relating to philosophical belief (gender critical)

NHS England have now conceded liability to indirect discrimination relating to sex and disability. However, they have not conceded indirect discrimination relating to religion or harassment. Why, I do not know! It seems odd they have admitted that policy is discriminatory to women and women with PTSD but does not put Muslims at a particular disadvantage compared to non-Muslims. Continuing to deny harassment is just enraging.

I will spend Monday and Tuesday in the witness box, followed by three witnesses from their side on Wednesday and Thursday. Simon Cheetham has decided he will have another round of the same after Darlington.

I remain employed by NHS England so I have to be careful with what I say. I have to say though – this is their own doing, and whatever comes, they have caused it.

The case will be known as LS vs NHS England. Faye Russell-Caldicott is a pseudonym. Can you guess who the name is dedicated to?

A hint: ‘enjoy your erasure’, ‘dog-whistle!’ and ‘…those she enables, and those who enable her, disgust me, and should disgust this house!’

Emmeline Pankhurst once said: 'They [men] have decided that it is entirely right and proper for men to fight for their liberties and their rights, but that it is not right and proper for women to fight for theirs.'

A gentle reminder of my anonymity and restricted reporting order, including for photos. You can use 'LS' or 'Faye'. Tribunal Tweets will be posting on X or you can attend in person (no live steam available).

Thank you for supporting my case.

Yours faithfully,

Faye

Dear all,

I decided to cancel Judicial Mediation earlier this week. This was the second time NHS England was not in a position to agree with my requests or change policy, so it was meaningless to attend JM. We are now preparing for a full hearing in two weeks’ time.

I am very delighted that Professor Jo Phoenix has agreed to provide evidence.

Dear All,

It has been a while since my last update. Some things have progressed whilst others have not.

I spent countless hours following Sandie Peggie's ET proceedings in Fife and the Darlington nurses here in England, mainly to familiarise myself with cross examination. I was so delighted to see their cases succeed for most parts. Wishing Sandie good luck with her appeal.

Meanwhile, NHS England's trans staff policy has been placed under "review" since April 2025 Supreme Court ruling because they are waiting for EHRC guidance. I have advised they could seek legal advice on this employer-employee matter instead of waiting for free guidance which will cover matters between service providers and members of the public (which I am not). I am still waiting.

One particular organisation applied to intervene and we would not have minded but the judge disagreed so they are now not intervening (something about not being of sufficient benefit). I am disappointed - I wanted to wear 'I like foxes' shirt to court.

Our judicial mediation session scheduled for December was postponed until the end of February because NHSE did not have a position so it was not meaningful for us to attend.

I have focused most of my efforts on the ongoing disclosure stage - nearly 900 pages from my side, covering over three years of engagement with various parts of the organisation. I am still waiting for a meaningful amount to materialise from their side.

The full hearing starts in five weeks and will last for six working days.

Thank you for those who have donated, shared and sent encouragement, you have been so lovely xx

Warmest regards,

Faye

Dear supporters,

next step in this process is to gather all the evidence, go through it and organise it, and exchange with the other side. We'll then look for gaps in what they have provided to us and will request further evidence if we feel something is missing.

I have a ton of material related to this case, spanning over nearly three years, as the issues at work started in Autumn 2022. Since I remain employed by the Respondent, there is accumulating material, too. My legal team will need to keep refreshing the case as we progress.

I'm now campaigning for the legal costs related to evidence prep. I've got an excellent solicitor and barrister and they are invaluable. If I didn't get the legal work covered, I'd probably continue on my own, but no one wants one of the first key cases in England to be a DIY job!

My supporters have been fantastic and you have been so lovely with your supportive messages, thank you. Many of you have donated more than once but I don't wish this to be a burden on a few individuals - instead I'd like to spread the word more effectively. I need more visibility. To help with this stage, could you kindly share the website link to my crowdfunder on various social media platforms this week please?

NHSE is currently waiting for EHRC guidance. Their Trans Staff Policy is labelled 'under review' but practically continues to be in force.

I will keep you all updated on how we progress. All donations go directly to my legal team's client account.

Thank you for your support and sharing.

Yours faithfully,

Faye

Dear all,

anonymity and reporting restrictions on my real identity were granted in a recent second preliminary hearing. We now have the dates for a final hearing, too, which will be held in March 2026.

Given my anonymity is now protected by a court order (FRC is just a pseudonym which you can use freely), I have decided to go ahead with this case. All support, sharing and donations would be hugely appreciated. We have a lot of work to do when preparing for the case. All donations will go directly to my legal team.

Kind regards,

Faye

Dear all,

We were ready for the second preliminary hearing take place last week but unfortunately it was cancelled last minute due to a lack of judges. We were hoping to get a new date shortly but have not heard yet and I felt an update at this stage would be needed. I would like to thank all of you for your support and I will update the page once we know more.

Very pleased to announce the Respondent has decided not to contest disability, which means both parties agree that I have PTSD which is serious enough to be a disability under the Eq Act 2010, and it will not be an issue that would need to be defined by the Tribunal.

We are fast approaching the second preliminary (case management) hearing, scheduled for February 2025. We are about 3-4k short of covering those costs. The 70k CrowdJustice target is an estimation of a full court case but I take one step at a time.

The best way to help is by sharing the link in your social media.

Thank you all for your continued support!

Dear all,

The next stage is to prepare for the second preliminary hearing scheduled in February 2025. The second hearing will handle remaining case management issues and anonymity application. So far, I have been campaigning under a pseudonym.

Since the first preliminary hearing last Autumn, the Respondent has asked a lot of additional questions about the impact my PTSD has on my day-to-day life. I have submitted five pages of answers in addition to the five pages that they already had in the original Disability Impact Statement. We are now waiting to hear the Respondent to either admit or deny my disability status because of PTSD. 

I would be forever grateful for your support to cover the legal costs of the next stage. More importantly, I'd be grateful, if you shared my story with your connections again. 

Thank you,

Faye Russell-Caldicott

Dear all,

I'd be grateful for your support in late October and early November so that I could cover the costs of responding to the Request for Further Information (made by the Respondent), preparing a disability impact statement and submitting relevant medical records. More importantly, I'd be grateful, if you shared my story with your connections again.

Thank you,

Faye

Dear All,

We’ve had our first preliminary hearing now. The judge allowed us to make some amendments to the claims but has listed another preliminary hearing in February 2025 to decide on the remaining outstanding matters, such as a list of issues and anonymity application. I’m now raising funds for the the legal fees to cover next steps in the process, such as my disability status, requests for further information and costs of another preliminary hearing. I would be grateful, if you could please share the link and support my case. Thank you!

It's so encouraging to see all the comments and well-wishes, thank you. I wonder how many of us are from different parts of the NHS. If you're from a trust or national team, please feel free to mention it in the comments (without giving details of your specific employer).

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be represented by solicitor Elizabeth McGlone from didlaw and Naomi Cunningham, barrister from Outer Temple.

Secondly, I wanted to thank everyone, as the preliminary hearing costs are now covered (the initial target was adjusted slightly lower since the last update).

Thank you for supporting me in taking this first step! We're now collecting for the stretch target of full costs.

Preliminary hearing is scheduled for early October 2024. The initial target of £6,000 will cover legal fees up to that point. Please support my case urgently and share the link. Thank you!