An aerospace engineer has told an employment tribunal she resorted to using “secret toilets” at work after encountering transgender colleagues in the women’s facilities.
Maria Kelly, a people and capability lead in the electronics division of aerospace firm Leonardo UK, is suing the company for harassment and for direct and indirect discrimination. The case is being heard at the Edinburgh Employment Tribunal before Judge Sutherland and was continuing this week.
Kelly alleges that her employer, which has operations in Edinburgh and across the UK, failed to address her concerns about toilet access. She said she became aware of transgender colleagues using the women’s facilities several years ago but did not raise the matter for fear of being labelled transphobic.
Privacy concerns
In evidence, Kelly told the tribunal that in March 2023 she had finished washing her hands in the female toilets when “one of my trans-identifying male colleagues walked in and I was a little taken aback”. She said she responded politely but afterwards chose to use what she described as “secret toilets”, tucked away in another part of the building and favoured by women seeking greater privacy.
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“I know women who use them because of the increased privacy,” she said. “I don’t know any man who knows about them.”
The tribunal heard Kelly say she considered female toilets a place of refuge, particularly during heavy periods, and that sharing them with male-born colleagues undermined her dignity. She told the panel she later wrote to her line manager asking whether the company had a policy based on sex or gender.
Her lawyer, Naomi Cunningham, asked how it felt to know transgender employees were using the women’s toilets. Kelly replied: “We are going to have to stop this. I am not going to sacrifice my privacy, my dignity, sharing the toilet with a man.”
Policy under scrutiny
According to Kelly’s account, she was informed in 2024 that Leonardo’s policy was that anyone who self-identified as a woman could use the female toilets. She said that in October of that year the women’s sign on the “secret squirrel toilets” was removed and replaced with a generic WC badge.
She told the tribunal that grievance proceedings required her to explain her concerns in front of three male colleagues. Kelly said she was distressed at having to justify why menstruation and menopause created specific privacy needs for women.
“I couldn’t believe that I had to sit in a room and justify why dealing with menstruation is a specific issue that women need privacy and dignity about, and then have to explain the consequences of menopause and the unpredictable nature of perimenopausal symptoms,” she said.
The tribunal also heard Kelly say she did not believe a person could change sex. “It’s always been related to sex, so it’s the sex that you were born,” she told the hearing. “So if you were born male you remain male and if you were born female you remain female.”
Legal backdrop
The case is taking place against a shifting legal and political backdrop. The UK Supreme Court ruled in April that under equalities law, a woman is defined by biological sex. The decision has been cited in subsequent disputes over facilities access and workplace policy.
Leonardo UK, which designs and manufactures defence and security equipment and employs thousands of people in the UK, has not yet responded in tribunal to the specific allegations. The company, which is headquartered in Italy, is one of the largest suppliers of military aircraft, helicopters and electronics to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The tribunal continues, and no findings have yet been made.
