On Mon, 29 Nov 2010, Roy Badami wrote:

In article ,
Roland Perry wrote:

What about stations where the ladies toilet is available and the gents
is locked? Is it *illegal* to suggest that the only available toilet is
"Ladies Only"?

Good question. AIUI one is not allowed to discriminate when supplying
goods and services. I wonder whether you need to be charging for the
services to be within the scope of the act?

No. Equality Act 2010 c29:

(1) A person (a service-provider) concerned with the provision of a
service to the public or a section of the public (for payment or not)
must not discriminate against a person requiring the service by not
providing the person with the service.

Followed by various other statements of the same idea. This law is new,
but it replaces, amongst other things, one from 1975 which i understand
said much the same thing.

I suspect that providing a ladies' waiting room but neither a gentlemen's
nor a general one *is* a breach of the act, but until someone brings an
action, we won't know, and it won't change. I imagine nobody being
discriminated against by the lack of provision of a small, cold room
adjacent to some public toilets for people of their gender is sufficiently
bothered about it to do so.

tom

--
Men? Women? Give me a colossal death robot any day!