A trainee prison custody officer was said to be “angry” after a disagreement with a colleague about the use of pronouns, an employment tribunal has heard.
An instructor at security firm GEOAmey also claimed there had been an incident where an officer was attacked by a transgender prisoner who spotted that paperwork referred to them as “he” rather than their chosen pronouns.
David Toshack, 51, has taken GEOAmey to an employment tribunal, alleging he was sacked because he refused to use “incorrect pronouns” for transgender prisoners.
The former soldier says he was dismissed with immediate effect on his final week of training.
Mr Toshack has previously denied he was “hostile” to colleagues in the disagreement over pronouns at a training event.
On Monday, the tribunal heard from Christopher Hutton, an instructor at GEOAmey.
He was asked about a training session for staff on 7 January 2025 where Mr Toshack was asked to leave the room after saying he would only use sex-based pronouns.
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Describing a meeting with Mr Toshack following the session, Mr Hutton told the tribunal: “He looked angry to be honest, he looked agitated.
“His face was a bit red.”
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Sacked worker did not want to ‘lie’ over transgender pronouns
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Under questioning from GEOAmey’s advocate Michael McLaughlin, Mr Hutton also spoke about the company’s policy on using pronouns in the paperwork which accompanied prisoners.
He told of one alleged incident where officers were moving a transgender prisoner who was known to self-harm.
Mr Hutton said: “The prison officer had written down ‘he’. The [person in] custody has seen it… and assaulted the officer.”
Discussing the importance of GEOAmey’s policy, Mr Hutton added: “I understand that Mr Toshack has his personal beliefs, but he has to follow the company policy.”
The instructor said Mr Toshack had failed his probation as he said he would not comply with the company policy.
Mr Hutton added: “It’s nothing to do with his beliefs. It’s the fact that he was going to put himself and other custody staff at risk.”
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Earlier, the tribunal heard evidence from another GEOAmey employee identified as Ms Ross, who was part of the same training course as Mr Toshack.
She said Mr Toshack got “quite heated” during the training session.
Ms Ross was asked about transgender prisoner Tiffany Scott, who was previously known as Andrew Burns and died in March 2024.
Ms Ross described Scott, 32, as an “infamous character” who would harm themself and required 24-hour supervision while in hospital.
The tribunal, which is taking place in Edinburgh before employment judge Amanda Jones, continues.
