Police were entitled to refuse employment to transsexual

In a judgment on 2 October 2001, Mr Justice Lindsay decided that the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 did not prevent the West Yorkshire Police from refusing to employ a transsexual as a police constable.  

The police successfully argued that the job involved making intimate body searches and therefore needed to be undertaken by one gender to preserve decency or privacy.  This represents a rare example of the defence to a discrimination claim, that the required employee's sex (or, in this case, the required employee having always been of the same sex) is a "Genuine Occupational Qualification".

Employers are advised strongly against taking any measures in relation to an employee who has undergone gender reassignment, unless they have taken specific legal advice on the individual situation.
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