In the News & Crowdfunder launched - Our Client – Social Worker, Feminist and Women’s Rights Campaigner suspended over gender critical social media
Our client, Rachel Meade, has worked as a social worker for 20 years. She was suspended from work due to believing that a person “cannot change their sex”, that “sex is real, important and immutable and is not to be conflated with gender identity”.
Ms Meade liked and shared posts on a closed Facebook group, most of which were in support of her gender critical beliefs and were made in the context of the government’s consultation of proposed amendments to the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (GRA). The Facebook posts were taken from a closed Facebook group with limited membership consisting of her family and friends.
Ms Meade was referred to her regulator, Social Work England, by an individual who took issue with her views, and following a ‘fitness to practice’ investigation Ms Meade was formally warned that social workers “expressing views on public forums carries the risk of complaints arising if their comments are interpreted by members of the public as being offensive or discriminatory”. She has since been suspended from work by her employer, Westminster City Council.
Ms Meade has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help fund her legal fees. Claims have been issued against Social Work England and Westminster City Council in the Employment Tribunal.
Donations to her campaign via CrowdJustice can be made via the link below:
The social and legal importance of the case has been recognised by The Times Newspaper, which quoted our Co–Founder Partner Shazia Khan who represents Ms Meade:
Quote:
“contrary to the Equality Act 2010 my client’s right to practice her chosen profession has been thwarted simply because she exercised right to freedom of expression of her gender critical beliefs”
Khan added that regulators and employers “must not act with impunity as though they are above the law. The facts of my client’s case sets a very worrying precedent – silencing and sanctioning is not the way forward”.
Read the The Times article here:
Ms Meade’s case follows the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Maya Forstater v CGD Europe and others UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ, which decided that gender critical beliefs are protected under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010.
If you have suffered discrimination or are having issues at work, please contact us and one of our team will be in touch to speak with you about your situation.