ECHR Guidance on single sex facilities deemed lawful

In R (on the application of Good Law Project Ltd and ors) v Commission for Equality and Human Rights, [2026] EWHC 279 (Admin), the High Court has held that interim guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, on the provision of single sex spaces, was not unlawful.

The Claimants challenged the legality of guidance contained in a document issued by the EHRC, first published on its website on 25 April 2025, entitled, “An interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment” (“the Interim Update”).

The Interim Update was published in exercise of the EHRC’s power at section 13(1)(d) of the Equality Act 2006 to “… give advice or guidance (whether about the effect or operation of an enactment or otherwise)”.

The High Court held that the interim guidance was not required to be comprehensive and accurately stated the legal position following the Supreme Court’s ruling in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers, [2025] ICR 899, to the extent that it applied to the provision of single-sex facilities.

It particular, it correctly stated the legal position in relation to the provision of such facilities in workplaces under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, as affected by the provisions in the Equality Act 2010.

Further, it included important caveats including advising that additional provision should be made for trans people where possible.

Amongst other things, it stated that for services open to the public, single-sex facilities are not compulsory but that in workplaces, single-sex facilities must be provided unless they are contained within a separate room, lockable from the inside, and for use by one person at a time.

The interim guidance also stated that single-sex facilities cease to be single-sex if trans people are permitted to use them other than in accordance with their biological sex.

Finally, the guidance noted that trans people should not be left without any facilities to use and that, where possible, mixed-sex facilities should be provided in addition to single-sex facilities.