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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Gender-Inclusive Care Policy

1. Purpose

This policy ensures that {{org_field_name}} provides inclusive, person-centred care that respects and upholds the rights of individuals of all gender identities. It establishes clear guidelines for promoting equality, dignity, and respect, in line with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulations, the Equality Act 2010, and best practices for gender-inclusive care.

We recognise that people we support may identify as male, female, non-binary, gender-fluid, or transgender, and our aim is to ensure that all individuals feel safe, respected, and supported in our services. This policy provides clear guidance on how our staff accommodate the diverse needs of gender identity and expression in Supported Living settings.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All staff members providing care and support.
• All people we support, ensuring their gender identity and expression are fully recognised and respected.
• Visitors, healthcare professionals, and external contractors interacting with individuals in our service.
• All premises, facilities, and care services operated by {{org_field_name}}.

3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

This policy will be implemented in accordance with applicable legislation and regulatory requirements, including:

• Equality Act 2010 – including the protected characteristics of sex and gender reassignment and the prohibitions on unlawful direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. For the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, sex is interpreted in accordance with current law. People with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment remain protected from unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
• Equality Act 2010 Statutory Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations 2026 – which provides statutory guidance on the application of the Equality Act 2010, including the provision of separate-sex and single-sex services and the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.
• Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, as amended, including:
  • Regulation 9 – Person-centred care: care and treatment must be appropriate, meet the person’s needs and reflect their preferences, with the person or their lawful representative involved in decisions about their care.
  • Regulation 10 – Dignity and respect: people must be treated with dignity and respect, including maintaining privacy, supporting autonomy and independence, and having due regard to relevant protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.
  • Regulation 11 – Need for consent: care and treatment must only be provided with the consent of the relevant person. Where a person aged 16 or over lacks capacity to make a particular decision, staff must act in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
  • Regulation 13 – Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment: people must be protected from abuse, degrading treatment, unlawful discrimination and other improper treatment.
  • Regulation 16 – Receiving and acting on complaints: complaints must be appropriately received, investigated and acted upon, and people must not be victimised or treated adversely because they have raised a complaint.
  • Regulation 17 – Good governance: effective systems and processes must be maintained to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of care and to maintain accurate, complete and appropriate records.
  • Regulation 18 – Staffing: staff must receive appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal as necessary to enable them to carry out their duties safely and competently.
• Mental Capacity Act 2005 – including the presumption of capacity, support to make decisions, decision-specific capacity assessment and best-interests requirements where a person lacks capacity.
• Human Rights Act 1998 – including respect for private and family life and the protection of dignity, privacy and personal autonomy.
• Gender Recognition Act 2004 – including the restrictions contained in section 22 on disclosure of protected information obtained in an official capacity concerning a person’s Gender Recognition Certificate application or gender history, subject to the statutory exceptions.
• UK General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018, as amended – requiring personal information to be processed lawfully, fairly, transparently, securely and only to the extent necessary for the relevant purpose.

Nothing within this policy gives an automatic entitlement to access a separate-sex or single-sex service or facility solely on the basis of self-declared gender identity. Where {{org_field_name}} provides or controls any separate-sex or single-sex service or facility, decisions about access must comply with the Equality Act 2010 and current statutory guidance and must take account of the rights, privacy, dignity and safety of all affected people.

4. Principles of Gender-Inclusive Care

{{org_field_name}} will apply the following principles when providing care and support:

• Respect for the individual – People will be treated with dignity, courtesy and respect. Staff will use the name and pronouns the person asks staff to use in ordinary communication, unless there is a specific lawful reason why particular information must be recorded or communicated differently.
• Person-centred care – Care and support will take account of the person’s individual needs, wishes, preferences, communication needs, protected characteristics and relevant personal circumstances.
• Equality and non-discrimination – No person will receive poorer care, be denied access to care or be subjected to harassment, victimisation or other unlawful discrimination because of a protected characteristic, including sex or gender reassignment.
• Privacy and dignity – Personal care, conversations, records, correspondence and sensitive information will be managed in a manner that protects the person’s privacy and dignity.
• Autonomy and involvement – People will be supported to make decisions about their care and daily lives wherever they have capacity to do so. Their preferences concerning clothing, appearance, grooming, forms of address and personal expression will be respected unless this would conflict with a lawful and proportionate requirement necessary to protect the person or others.
• Single-sex and separate-sex arrangements – Where {{org_field_name}} provides or controls a separate-sex or single-sex service or facility, access will be determined in accordance with the Equality Act 2010 and current statutory guidance. Decisions will not be based solely upon self-identification and will take appropriate account of sex, gender reassignment, privacy, dignity, safety and the circumstances of the particular service.
• Safeguarding – Discrimination, harassment, abuse, degrading treatment or other improper treatment will not be tolerated. Concerns will be addressed through the organisation’s safeguarding, complaints and disciplinary procedures as appropriate.
• Accurate and respectful communication – Care plans and records will contain the information necessary to provide safe, lawful and person-centred care. Information concerning a person’s sex, gender reassignment, gender history, preferred name or pronouns will only be recorded where relevant and necessary for the purpose for which the record is maintained.

5. Supporting People We Care For

5.1 Person-Centred Gender-Inclusive Care Planning

Care and support planning must be undertaken in partnership with the person and must reflect their individual needs, preferences and wishes in accordance with Regulation 9 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

Where relevant to the person’s care and where it is necessary to record the information, the care plan may include:

• the name by which the person wishes to be known;
• the pronouns the person wishes staff to use;
• preferences relating to clothing, appearance, grooming and personal presentation;
• privacy and dignity requirements;
• preferences about the gender of staff providing intimate or personal care, where such preferences can reasonably and lawfully be accommodated;
• relevant healthcare or medicines information that staff need in order to provide safe care;
• relevant communication requirements; and
• any identified risk, safeguarding or reasonable support arrangements necessary to provide safe and person-centred care.

Staff must not assume that information about a person’s gender identity or gender history needs to be recorded simply because the person is transgender, non-binary or otherwise gender diverse.

People must be involved in decisions about what information relevant to their care is recorded and how their care is delivered. Care and treatment must only be provided with lawful consent in accordance with Regulation 11.

Where there is reason to doubt whether a person aged 16 or over has capacity to make a particular decision about their care, staff must follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and {{org_field_name}}’s Consent to Care Policy. Capacity must be considered in relation to the specific decision and at the time the decision needs to be made.

Care plans must be reviewed when the person’s needs, circumstances or preferences change and at the intervals required by the organisation’s care planning procedures. Relevant changes must be communicated appropriately to staff involved in providing care.

5.2 Dignity, Privacy and Personal Spaces

People receiving support must have their privacy, dignity and personal autonomy respected at all times, including when receiving personal care, dressing, washing, bathing, using the toilet and undertaking personal grooming.

Within a person’s own home, staff must respect the person’s lawful choices concerning their clothing, appearance, personal possessions and use of their private living space.

Where personal care is provided:

• doors, curtains and other appropriate privacy measures must be used;
• staff must explain what they are doing and obtain the person’s consent;
• only staff whose presence is necessary should normally be present;
• personal information must not be discussed where it can unnecessarily be overheard; and
• preferences concerning the gender of staff providing intimate or personal care must be identified and considered as part of person-centred care planning, subject to what can reasonably and safely be provided.

Where {{org_field_name}} provides or controls a separate-sex or single-sex facility or service, access arrangements must comply with the Equality Act 2010 and current statutory guidance. There is no automatic entitlement to use a separate-sex or single-sex facility solely on the basis of self-declared gender identity.

Any decision that affects a person with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment must be lawful, evidence-based and proportionate, and must take appropriate account of the nature of the service, the privacy, dignity and safety of all affected people and any applicable Equality Act exception.

Staff must not make ad hoc decisions based on personal beliefs or prejudices. Where there is uncertainty about the lawful operation of a single-sex or separate-sex arrangement, the matter must be referred to the Registered Manager before a decision is made, unless immediate action is required to protect a person from harm.

5.3 Health and Well-Being

People must be supported to access appropriate health services without unlawful discrimination because of sex, gender reassignment or any other protected characteristic.

Staff must provide health-related support in accordance with the person’s assessed needs, care plan, consent, prescribed treatment and the limits of the staff member’s role and competence.

Where a person receives prescribed medicines or other treatment associated with gender reassignment, including hormone treatment, relevant information must be included in the person’s care or medicines records where this is necessary for the safe provision of care.

Information must not be recorded merely because it concerns gender reassignment. Only information that is relevant and necessary for the delivery, safety, continuity or monitoring of the person’s care should be recorded.

Staff must not:

• alter, stop, withhold or administer medication outside the person’s prescribed directions;
• provide clinical advice outside their competence;
• make assumptions about a person’s physical or mental health because they are transgender or gender diverse; or
• disclose information concerning a person’s gender history or treatment without a lawful basis.

Where the person requests assistance in accessing healthcare, mental health services, advocacy or specialist services, staff must provide reasonable support within the person’s agreed care arrangements.

Any concern about the safety, effectiveness or side effects of prescribed treatment must be escalated through the appropriate healthcare professional in accordance with the organisation’s medicines and healthcare procedures.

6. Staff Training and Awareness

• All staff must receive mandatory training on:
  • Gender identity and expression.
  • Addressing unconscious bias and gender stereotypes.
  • Recognising and addressing discrimination, harassment, or inappropriate behaviour.
• Regular workshops and refresher training must be provided to embed inclusive care practices.
• Managers must ensure that staff feel confident and supported in implementing gender-inclusive care.

7. Safe and Inclusive Working Environment

• Staff of all gender identities must be treated equally and fairly in the workplace.
• Discrimination, bullying, or harassment based on gender identity will result in disciplinary action.
• Staff will be provided with gender-neutral or appropriate changing and rest areas.

8. Addressing Concerns and Complaints

People receiving support, their representatives, relatives, advocates and other relevant persons must be able to raise concerns or complaints about gender-related care, discrimination, dignity, privacy, harassment or any other aspect of the service.

Complaints must be managed in accordance with Regulation 16 – Receiving and acting on complaints of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and {{org_field_name}}’s Complaints Policy.

Staff must:

• listen to and appropriately record concerns or complaints;
• explain how the complaint will be managed;
• provide appropriate assistance where a person needs support to make or communicate a complaint;
• promptly pass complaints to the appropriate manager in accordance with the organisation’s procedure;
• ensure necessary and proportionate action is taken where a failure is identified; and
• ensure that learning arising from complaints is considered and acted upon.

No person receiving support may be discriminated against, victimised, intimidated or disadvantaged because they have made a complaint, raised a concern or supported another person to do so.

A complaint that also indicates actual or suspected abuse, neglect, discriminatory abuse or other safeguarding concerns must be managed under the Safeguarding Adults from Abuse Policy as well as the complaints procedure. Safeguarding concerns must not be dealt with solely as complaints.

Concerns relating to accidental or inadvertent use of an incorrect name or pronoun should be addressed proportionately. Persistent, deliberate or degrading conduct may constitute bullying, harassment, discriminatory abuse or improper treatment and must be escalated appropriately.

9. Confidentiality and Data Protection

Information concerning a person’s sex, gender reassignment, gender identity, gender history, preferred name, pronouns, healthcare or treatment must be handled confidentially and in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 where applicable, and {{org_field_name}}’s data protection and confidentiality procedures.

Personal information must be:

• processed lawfully, fairly and transparently;
• collected only for specified and legitimate purposes;
• adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary;
• accurate and kept up to date where necessary;
• retained only for as long as required; and
• protected against unauthorised or unlawful access, disclosure, alteration, loss or destruction.

Information must not automatically be shared merely because a person is transgender, non-binary or otherwise gender diverse.

Before recording or sharing information, staff must consider:

• why the information is required;
• whether recording or disclosure is necessary for the person’s care, safety or another lawful purpose;
• who genuinely requires access to the information;
• the appropriate lawful basis for processing or disclosure; and
• whether additional data protection conditions or safeguards apply.

Consent should be sought where consent is the appropriate lawful basis. However, information may lawfully be processed or disclosed without consent where another lawful basis applies, including where disclosure is necessary for the provision of health or social care, safeguarding, compliance with a legal obligation, protection of vital interests or another purpose permitted by law.

Where information constitutes special-category personal data, {{org_field_name}} must identify both an appropriate lawful basis for processing and an applicable special-category condition before processing the information.

Gender Recognition Act 2004 information

Staff must exercise particular care where they obtain information in an official capacity indicating that a person has applied for or obtained a Gender Recognition Certificate or revealing information concerning the person’s gender before obtaining legal recognition.

Where information falls within the definition of “protected information” under section 22 of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, staff must not disclose it unless a statutory exception permits the disclosure.

Any uncertainty about whether section 22 applies must be referred to the Registered Manager or the person responsible for data protection before disclosure, unless an immediate disclosure is required and clearly permitted by law.

Records, names, pronouns and sex information

Where relevant to the provision of person-centred care, records should accurately identify:

• the name the person wishes staff to use;
• the pronouns the person wishes staff to use; and
• any information necessary to meet their communication, dignity or care needs.

Staff must not assume that a person’s preferred name or pronouns automatically changes any record of sex that is required for a lawful, clinical, safeguarding, equality-monitoring or administrative purpose.

Where information about sex is necessary, it must be recorded accurately for the purpose for which it is required and handled sensitively.

Historic names or gender-history information must not be retained or displayed unnecessarily where there is no continuing lawful purpose for doing so.

10. External Support and Advocacy

We will ensure people we support have access to external gender identity support networks, including:

• LGBTQ+ advocacy groups for advice and emotional support.
• Local health services specialising in transgender healthcare.
• Community networks for peer support.

11. Related Policies

• SL08 – Dignity and Respect Policy​
• SL09 – Consent to Care Policy​
• SL13 – Safeguarding Adults from Abuse Policy​
• SL30 – Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy​
• SL42 – Communication and Engagement with Service Users Policy​

12. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed annually, or earlier if:

• Legislation or best practices evolve.
• A serious incident occurs that requires a policy update.
• Feedback from people we support or staff suggests improvements.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
Copyright © {{current_year}} – {{org_field_name}}. All rights reserved.