County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has formally concluded an agreement with the claimants involved in Employment Tribunal proceedings relating to the provision of changing facilities.
The Tribunal issued its judgment in January 2026 and asked the Trust to work with the claimants to reach agreement on remedy. Following further discussions between the parties, an agreement has now been reached and has been signed by all parties.
As part of the agreement, the Trust is writing to the claimants to offer a formal apology, acknowledging the Tribunal's findings and the impact the matters considered by the Tribunal had on those involved. This reflects the apology the Trust issued at the time of the judgment as we accepted the findings of the tribunal.
Since the judgment was issued, the Trust has undertaken further work alongside changes already implemented, including ensuring that unisex facilities are available across its hospital sites and continuing to review relevant policies and procedures to ensure they reflect the Tribunal's findings and the Trust's responsibilities as a public body.
Chief Executive Steve Russell said: "We have accepted and respected the Tribunal's findings from the outset and have carefully considered what they mean for our organisation.
"We recognise that the approach taken should have been different, and we regret the impact this had on the colleagues involved. We have repeated our apology directly to those affected.
“Following the judgment, we issued updated guidance and developed unisex facilities to ensure that single sex facilities are used based on biological sex. Whilst this complies with the judgment we want to further improve changing facilities for all colleagues. We also have to acknowledge the impact these changes have had on some of our other colleagues.
"Our focus now is on moving forward, continuing to support our colleagues and ensuring our policies, facilities and practices reflect both our legal responsibilities and our commitment to providing an inclusive workplace for everyone. We are also currently considering the recently updated EHRC guidance.”