IDG30250 - Confidentiality when dealing with the customer: customer confidentiality: transgender customers

All disclosures of HMRC information must be lawful in accordance with the provisions set out in the CRCA, see IDG40100.

The Gender Recognition Act 2004 provides additional safeguards on confidentiality, as well as allowing transgender customers to legally acquire their acquired gender. You must be aware of these additional safeguards on confidentiality when dealing with transgender customers, or handling information about them.

The Act allows a transgender person to apply for a ‘gender recognition certificate’. The issuing of this certificate gives a person the legal rights and responsibilities of their acquired gender. HMRC is advised of this to enable the department to carry out its functions, such as NICs administration.

The Act provides that you must not disclose any ‘protected information’ regarding transgender customers to a third party unless the disclosure falls within a limited number of special exemptions. If you are considering a disclosure of ‘protected information’ you must seek guidance first. ‘Protected information’ means information a person has supplied to a Gender Recognition Panel in connection with an application for a gender recognition certificate or any other information which concerns a person’s gender before their gender was changed.

Further guidance

Details of how to deal with transgender customers, and information about them, is given in the Customer Adviser Guide. 

If you receive a request for information concerning a transgender person, and are unsure as to how to proceed, seek further advice from the specialist team, or contact your Security & Information Business Partner (SIBP) which can be looked up on the intranet search facility.