Council worker sacked over 'deliberately provocative' pronouns used on emails

James Orwin chose to self-identify as “XYchromosomeGuy/AdultHumanMale” after East Riding Council staff were told they could add pronouns to their email signature.

The move was aimed at supporting workers who identify their gender in a way not necessarily consistent with their biological sex, including transgender people. Examples given included “ze/zir, per/pers, ey/em, xe/xem”.

Ex-chief executive Caroline Lacey signed her name on theemail to staff on April 13 2022, followed by “(she/her/hers)”.

The ICT project manager, whose belief was that “sex is biologically immutable, that there are only two sexes,” did not have to add pronouns but told a manager not doing so “would be accepting this garbage”.

An employment tribunal has since been held which has rejected his claim of wrongful dismissal. The day after Ms Lacey’s missive Mr Orwin emailed a manager explaining he felt complying “without challenge would be tacit acceptance of the clearly divisive, exclusionary nonsense of identity politics”.

A panel headed by Employment Judge Ian Miller said Mr Orwin could have raised a grievance or blown the whistle but decided not to. “The only way to challenge this policy, the claimant believed, was to adopt deliberately provocative pronouns”.

He was warned that using the footer could be “deemed offensive” but on May 5 he added it to his emails insisting that the council had “invited employees to enter your own pronouns, which is exactly what I did”.

Later that day Simon Lowe, a manager who oversees equal-opportunities policy, warned him if he did not remove the footer he could face disciplinary action.

He said the would “be happy to consider any alternative proposals/pronouns that you may wish to suggest.”

The following day a manager emailed that LGBTQ+ staff felt the pronouns were “offensive”. The council “took steps to ensure that the footer was removed, otherwise it would have been used in external communications”, the panel found.

It said Mr Lowe felt it was a “provocative biological and anatomical statement” which could be considered “transphobic”. It would also “look bad and be very controversial if it was revealed in the local media”.

Mr Orwin was suspended on May 20. He was sacked in August 2022 after a disciplinary hearing, followed by a failed appeal in October 2022.

The panel agreed with the council’s decision and said the footer was “mocking and derisory of people who self-identify”. “Its continued use would have made the respondent look like they condoned the claimant’s actions, which were divisive and exclusionary”.

Had Mr Orwin moderated the footer or engaged with the council, it may not have amounted to gross misconduct.

However his failure to follow orders meant “the claimant was in repudiatory breach of contract and the respondent was entitled to summarily dismiss the claimant.”