𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Civil servants could face disciplinary action if they fail to use the preferred name or gender of a transgender colleague, a leaked document has shown. The confidential Cabinet Office document states that deliberately “deadnaming” or “misgendering to deny, mock or invalidate” their transgender identity may amount to misconduct and should be investigated.

The guidance, marked “official sensitive”, sets out how transgender employees should be treated across Government departments. It says staff could be sanctioned for intentionally referring to a colleague by the name they used before transitioning or using pronouns that do not correspond with their stated gender.

However, managers would be expected to establish whether mistakes resulted from factors such as memory problems or a neurodivergent condition before taking action.

The Cabinet Office has not publicly released guidance given to staff after it was updated following last year’s Supreme Court ruling that ruled the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex.

A spokesman said: “Under legislation, as has been the case under successive governments, policy which is under development is not released to ensure advice can be discussed freely without undue public interest.

“Departments are expected to update their own HR policies, and these are currently under review. This guidance supports them to do that, and it would be inappropriate to share while this is ongoing.”

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “Departments are expected to update their own HR policies, and these are currently under review. This guidance supports them to do that, and it would be inappropriate to comment while this is ongoing.”

The leaked document comes as the Civil Service prepares to enforce guidance on the use of same-sex spaces as a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

As a result of the court’s judgment, transgender civil servants could be told they cannot use facilities designated exclusively for members of their affirmed gender, including certain toilets and changing rooms. Guidance on the use of toilets and changing rooms as single-sex spaces will come into force under law on August 5.

The code of practice, which covers England, Scotland and Wales and was published in draft form in May, confirmed that a service must be used on the basis of biological sex to be classed as single-sex under the Equality Act, as per the 2025 ruling.