Third of UK employers ‘less likely’ to hire transgender staff

LONDON: One in three employers in Britain say they would be less likely to hire someone if they were transgender, according to a new study published on Monday.

Less than one in five British employers have an inclusive policy towards transgender staff and only nine percent believe in legal protection against discrimination, according to the study by Crossland Employment Solicitors.

ILGA-Europe, which lobbies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, said employers needed to address the exclusion of the transgender community from the workplace.“Employers have the ability – and responsibility – to be changemakers in society,” Executive Director Evelyne Paradis told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.

“And increased cooperation with LGBTI activists is one obvious way to begin to solve this problem. “Researchers for Crossland Employment Solicitors surveyed 1,000 executives involved in recruitment at a range of organisations involved in a mix of different sectors in Britain.