HSBC offers free surgery to trans staff

HSBC will start paying for its transgender staff members to have reassignment surgery from next year.

It said employees, their partners and their dependents aged 18 to 21 could apply. Staff received a memo earlier this week informing them of the ‘gender dysphoria benefit’.

It will cover diagnosis, mental health treatments, hormone consultation, speech therapy, hair removal and surgery. The email also encouraged staff to be their ‘true authentic self’.

It defined gender dysphoria ‘as a person who doesn’t align with their biological sex’ and as ‘a recognised medical condition’.

The memo added: ‘By providing access to gender affirmation treatment, we hope that our trans and non-binary colleagues and their dependants are able to be their true authentic self.’

Earlier this year, NatWest said it would fund non-surgical hormone treatment for its transgender members of staff in a bid to make the bank more inclusive.

And Lloyds changed its employee health insurance plans to include private sex change ops in 2016, becoming the first British company to do so.