Company bosses could face prosecution under the Labour Party's proposed ban on conversion therapy, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
The legislation, currently in draft form, aims to outlaw abusive attempts to change an individual's sexuality or gender identity. A lesser-known aspect of the Conversion Practices Bill states that company directors could be held personally liable if they fail to take 'all reasonable steps to prevent' such offenses within their organizations.
Critics fear this could lead to police investigations of workplaces for issues such as employees being deliberately misgendered or referred to by their former names. Lawyer Dennis Kavanagh of the Gay Men's Network commented that standard workplace disputes could escalate into prosecutions of companies, with directors potentially facing conviction if found to have permitted or failed to prevent such actions.
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the women's rights charity Sex Matters, expressed concern that "Every organisation in the country should be terrified of the Government's Draft Conversion Practices Bill."
However, the government has insisted that misgendering would not be considered an abusive conversion practice under the bill, and that the legislation only targets businesses actively engaged in abusive conversion practices.
Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson also stated that the law would not criminalize parents for telling their children they cannot change their sex. She clarified that the bill focuses on "forcing someone to change who they are" through abusive pressure that causes harm, emphasizing a "very high legal threshold."