Toy Prendergast, a 55-year-old trans woman, is suing her former workplace, delivery giant FedEx, claiming she was forced out of work due to transphobic harassment and bullying from colleagues. According to the Daily Mail, Prendergast had been working at the global firm’s UK HQ in Newcastle-under-Lyme for 12 years as depot operative, before beginning her transition in 2017. She quit her job in May after reportedly suffering years of abuse since coming out as trans.
Prendergast said: “I used to be one of the gang, but when I came out as Toy they turned on me straight away. My life was made hell. I was scared to go to work – I was scared for my safety...Virtually every day I was being abused. I would wake up every night crying and drenched in sweat.” She said the harassment led her to consider taking her own life: “I just couldn’t go on – I was having too many suicidal thoughts. I was panicking at the very thought of going into work. Every day was like a recurring nightmare.”
She is now suing the company for constructive dismissal and gender reassignment discrimination, on the basis she was forced to work in “toxic and intimidating environment that violated her dignity” as a trans woman. Her lawyers stated: “Contrary to her hopes, her transgender status marked the beginning of hostile and abusive discriminatory treatment that was all the more hurtful because many of the perpetrators were colleagues whom she had worked with without issue previously.” A tribunal date is yet to be set.
A FedEx spokesperson responded to the situation: “We care for the wellbeing of all our team members and take any allegations of discrimination extremely seriously. As this is an ongoing legal matter, it is not appropriate for us to comment further.”
