Sitemap

Pages

Posts by category

People

Case Studies

Locations

Vacancies

Expertise

Locations

Tax-Free Childcare: All You Need to Know

The Government offers a variety of tax schemes for families, but one of its lesser known is the Tax-Free Childcare Scheme. If you’re eligible, the Government will pay 20% of your childcare costs, up to £2,000 per child, per year (or £4,000 if your child has a disability). You can even use Tax-Free Childcare to pay for summer holiday clubs.

Read on to find out all the essentials on Tax-Free Childcare, including how it works, how to find out if you’re eligible, and more.

WHAT IS TAX-FREE CHILDCARE?

Tax-Free Childcare is a Government scheme that offers up to £500 every three months (£2,000 a year) for each of your children aged 11 or under. If your child is disabled, you may get up to £1,000 every three months (£4,000 a year) until they are 16 years old.

To apply for Tax-Free Childcare, you need to open a Tax-Free Childcare account online. If successful, the Government will pay in £2 for every £8 you contribute to your account.

Useful Tip: If you want to find out how much you might be entitled to, stick your details in the Government’s childcare calculator.

 

HOW DOES TAX-FREE CHILDCARE WORK?

When you apply, you’ll need your national insurance number and unique taxpayer reference (UTR). The process takes around 20 minutes and only one parent can open an account.

You can pay into an account via a standing order or with a debit card – but you can’t set up a direct debit. Grandparents can pay in too, as can close friends.

Once you’ve paid in, you can expect the Government to top it up the same day. And you can pay your childcare provider as soon as the account displays ‘available funds’. Simply select your provider and transfer the money.

Payments made before 2.30pm should arrive in the provider’s account that same day. Make a payment after that time, or on a weekend/bank holiday, and it’ll arrive the next working day.

However, sometimes payments can take three working days, so try and plan ahead to avoid missing deadlines.

WHO IS TAX-FREE CHILDCARE FOR?

To qualify for Tax-Free Childcare, you (and your partner, if you have one) need to be working and:

  • Each earn national minimum wage – at the equivalent of 16 hours/week at the national minimum wage for your age group.
  • Each earn £100,000 a year or less – if both partners earn £1,000 you qualify. But if one earns £30,000 and the other £100,001, you won’t qualify.

Your partner doesn’t have to be the other parent, it’s based on who you live with.

If you’re self-employed, over the next three months you and your partner (if you have one) must expect to earn at least:

  • £2,167 if you’re aged 23 or over.
  • £2,117 if you’re aged 21 or 22.
  • £1,557 if you’re aged 18 to 20.

If you’ve been self-employed for less than 12 months, the minimum income requirement doesn’t apply to you.

WHAT CAN TAX-FREE CHILDCARE BE USED FOR?

Tax-Free Childcare can be used to pay for childcare that is approved by the Government, which can include:

  • Breakfast clubs
  • After-school clubs
  • Play schemes
  • Childminders
  • Holiday camps
  • Sport and art clubs
  • Nurseries
  • Nannies
  • Au-pairs.

However, the childcare provider you use needs to be signed up to the scheme before you can pay them and take advantage of Tax-Free Childcare.

WHAT OTHER CHILDCARE COST HELP CAN I USE ALONGSIDE TAX-FREE CHILDCARE?

Although you can claim for 30 hours free childcare at the same time as Tax-Free Childcare, you can’t use the scheme at the same time as:

  • Universal Credit
  • Tax Credits (including Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit)
  • Childcare Vouchers – although this scheme closed to new applicants in October 2018, you can still receive the vouchers if you signed up before then, are with the same employer, and they still offer them. If you do get these vouchers, it’s worth comparing what you’d get with each scheme, before deciding whether to keep them or sign up for Tax-Free Childcare.

If you sign up for Tax-Free Childcare, bear in mind that any Tax Credits or Universal Credit you receive will be terminated and you’ll remain ineligible for as long as you’re a member of the scheme.

For help with your tax matters, don’t hesitate to contact our Tax Advisory team on 0333 060 9827.

GET IN TOUCH

 

Pride Month 2022: Stonewall

Pride.

On its own? Just a word.

However, to most by now, I imagine (or I guess, I hope!) it draws images of the colourful, vibrant, rainbow decorated annual celebrations and marches hosted in cities across the world celebrating the beauty of the LGBTQ+ community in all its forms.

For a movement so vividly decorated, the history and suffering faced by those in the LGBTQ+ community’s widely known to be far darker – and it’s by no means perfect today either.

Fortus support employees, and one way they do this is by helping to educate us all on important cultural and social issues, hence me writing this. As you all may know (and I’d be surprised if you didn’t know by now!), I’m incredibly active within the community and have previously written a piece before – the infamous ‘Pansexual Accountant’s Guide to LGBTQ+ People’! 

As June rolls round for another year, it’s pivotal to reflect and remember those who’ve made the progress of today possible, and acknowledge why at the start of the summer, every year, there’s a tidal wave of content about the LGBTQ+ community.

(Hint: It’s not just so we can have a big gay party in the sunshine!)

28th June 1969 – only 53 years ago.

Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, New York City.

The mayor of New York was campaigning to change the image of the city. Organised crime, particularly the Mafia, had incredibly strong links with a lot of the bars and clubs in the area, so many liquor licenses had been revoked at the time. However, said bars and clubs also had very infamous links with homosexual men, and that was another reason the mayor wanted to deploy undercover police officers to entrap and shut them down. For context, at the time, it was illegal in New York to hold hands, kiss, or even dance with the same sex.

The Stonewall Inn was purchased by the Mafia in 1966, cheaply renovated and reopened as a private ‘bottle bar’ (bring your own booze, and therefore no need for a liquor license) but was known infamously for being the gay bar of the city. It had two dance floors, very dark lighting and walls, no running water or clean toilets – and most infamously a second back room which welcomed ‘queens’ (trans women, drag artists and those less willing to be constrained by the gendered norms of their clothing).

Due to the laws of the time, the bar was regularly raided. During the raids, the patrons would be asked to line up, have their IDs checked and arrests were often made if found breaking the law. In fact, female officers would actually ‘verify’ the physical nature of women in the bars and if they were found to be breaching the gender they were assigned at birth, they would be arrested. This included ensuring biological women were wearing at least 3 items of feminine clothing and biological men couldn’t be seen as effeminate in any way.

Usually, the bars would be tipped off about police raids, due to the corrupted-nature of the city at the time. Often, these bars had extra liquor in secret panels and would resume business as soon as possible after alcohol was seized. However, on the night of the 28th June, there’d been no tip off and at 1:20am the police arrived demanding entry and announcing their presence, after 4 undercover officers (2 men and 2 women) had been gathering visual evidence earlier in the evening.

There were approximately 205 people in the bar at the start of the evening, but rather than complying, the patrons were unwilling to ‘form an orderly queue’ and challenged police instruction. The police grew frustrated, and the crowd grew not only defiant, but also in its size, with crowds gathering outside Stonewall where patrons refused to move along quietly if they were allowed to exit the bar (or rather, forcibly kicked from the bar in many cases), and onlookers joined in on the commotion. Activists like Marsha P. Johnson (an iconic transwoman who defined Stonewall) were involved in driving forward the crowd, and not conceding to the force shown by the police. Some of the lesbians on the scene were also aggressively manhandled (hit over the head and inappropriately groped) which sparked violence in the crowd. The police were outnumbered by 500 to 600 and so, by 2am riots were underway with the mob offering backlash into the early hours of the morning.

It was seen as ‘humiliating’ for the police, and additional reinforcements were sent to support (known as the ‘Tactical Patrol Force’) as they’d barricaded themselves inside Stonewall with a few patrons, whilst outside the riots grew increasingly violent with windows being smashed and fires being started – both literally and metaphorically.

Historian David Carter wrote an article entitled ‘What made Stonewall different’, which in short was described as a raid like the countless others the community had experienced. This riot was the first to really generate media coverage, and the news quickly spread about Stonewall. Many people emerged in support of the cause over the course of 6 days to fight against the poor treatment of patrons by the police. But beyond that, people were coming together to fight against the laws stopping them from being who they truly were.

The reality is, the community had had enough of being put down, and they stood up for themselves. Not everyone was proud of what happened at Stonewall, and some of the community at the time actually believed it wasn’t the right tactic to take, and worried it’d cause backlash from the general public. But it was a product of frustration which truly triggered an influx of activist groups, and most infamously the annual Pride celebrations we see today.

28th June 1970 – one year on from the infamous riots.

Greenwich Village, New York City.

The first event defined as ‘Pride’ took place to commemorate the events of the prior year – supporters gathered at Christopher Street and marched through New York for 51 blocks chanting ‘say it loud, gay is proud’.

Trying to effectively comprehend just how liberating this must have felt can only be done in the words of someone who lived through such a context and Michael Fader, a patron of the Stonewall Inn, summed up his take on Stonewall:

“There was something in the air, freedom a long time overdue and we’re going to fight for it. It took different forms, but the bottom line was, we weren’t going to go away. And we didn’t.”

Despite the laws in place, Pride received very little public backlash in New York – meaning that freedom and celebration were firmly cemented in the cause, and helped create the very image of what Pride is today.

28th June 1972

London, United Kingdom.

The momentum of the past few years had been spreading worldwide, and the UK organised its first ever march in honour of those riots. This celebration was about loving freely, being openly out, and being proud about who you are.

Many individuals involved in the Stonewall riots had gone on to find additional activist groups (such as the Gay Liberation Front and GLAAD). Some of the UK activists had been involved in and seen the effect these groups had in the US, such as Bob Mellors and Aubrey Walter, which gave them the drive to push the movement forward over here.

The history of the LGBTQ+ movement’s far more complex, not just in the US or the UK, but worldwide. There’s a legislative tale of its own to be told behind each country, that takes one step forward and then two steps back – how government policies can often turn out. The UK was by no means an exception to this rule, with the 1980s introducing Section 28 and the handling of the AIDs crisis to name two of the most iconic and generation defining setbacks to the equality movement. Not to mention the power and influence media outlets have had in shaping public opinion.

However, the reality is that Stonewall wasn’t the ‘start’ of LGBTQ+ history. There were gay liberation movements that pre-dated the riots, as well as a wealth of stories that have now followed on from Stonewall. But it was, and still is, a hugely important ‘collective memory’ of many people worldwide in the LGBTQ+ community (and explains why your newsfeed has had an explosion of rainbow company logos this month!).

However, much like the Stonewall movement and Pride ‘annual’ celebrations, the plight of the LGBTQ+ community’s ongoing and not confined within the constraints of one month. It’s still illegal to be homosexual in 70 countries worldwide, with the death penalty carried as an ‘appropriate’ punishment in 11 of these countries.

Furthermore, the UK isn’t ‘cured’ of homophobia. The charity Stonewall have found that two thirds of LGBTQ+ people have experienced violence or abuse, whilst 2 in 5 trans people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity.

So, whilst it’s so important we keep this conversation, education and fight ongoing throughout June, it also needs to continue once the rainbows fade back to the usual logos of your favourite brands. This can even be seen with the Pride parades themselves too, with them now being spread out beyond the month of June!

Speaking of which, you’ll catch myself and Team Fortus waving the flag at Milton Keynes Pride on 10th September. For those who can’t wait, there’s a whole calendar below of celebrations for those inspired to get involved:

The LGBTQ+ community’s a rich and diverse one, spanning so many corners of history. So if you want to learn more, be sure to check out the useful resources below. Don’t be afraid to use the internet to explore further if it’s sparked your curiosity too!

 

 

Terms of use

Overview

This page (together with the documents referred to on it) tells you the terms of use on which you may use our website www.fortus.co.uk (“our site”).

Please read these terms of use carefully before you start to use our site. By using our site, you indicate that you accept these terms of use and that you agree to abide by them. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please refrain from using our site. These terms of use apply to all users of, and visitors to, our site.

Other applicable terms

These terms of use refer to the following additional terms, which also apply to your use of our site:

Our Privacy Policy, which sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you, or that you provide to us. By using our site, you consent to the collection, use, transfer and processing of your information and you warrant that all data provided by you to us is accurate; and

Our Cookie Policy, which sets out information about the cookies on our site.

Information about us

Our site is operated by Fortus (“We” “Us” “Our”) which is a group of companies consisting of Fortus Limited, Fortus Holdings, Fortus North Limited and Fortus Audit LLP. The registered office for all the above is Equinox House, Clifton park, Shipton Road, York, YO30 5PA and a list of the directors, partners and principles for each firm is available at its registered office.

Accessing our site

We permit access to our site on a temporary basis, and we reserve the right to withdraw or amend the service we provide on our site without notice (see below). We will not be liable if for any reason our site is unavailable at any time or for any period.

From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of our site, or our entire site.
The information on our site is only available in English.

We are committed to ensuring that the pages within our site are accessible to all individuals including those with disabilities. Throughout the design process, we have undertaken to ensure that our site meets accessibility standards as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). All English language pages of our site conform to W3C’s “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0”, Level 1.

If you experience any technical or other issues with this website, please email enquiries@fortus.co.uk.

Intellectual property rights

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in our site, and in the material published on it. Copyright laws and treaties around the world protect those works published on our site. All such rights are reserved.

No part of this website may be published, distributed, extracted, re-utilised, or reproduced in any material or electronic form except in accordance with the permissions set out below or as permitted by the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997, as applicable.

You may print off one copy, and may download extracts, of any page(s) from our site for your personal reference and you may draw the attention of others within your organisation to material posted on our site.

You must not modify the paper or digital copies of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.

Our status (and that of any identified contributors) as the authors of material on our site must always be acknowledged.

You must not use any part of the materials on our site for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.

If you print off, copy or download any part of our site in breach of these terms of use, your right to use our site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.

Reliance on information posted

Commentary and other materials posted on our site are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice on which reliance should be placed. We therefore disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any visitor to our site, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

Please contact us directly if you would like to discuss engaging us for business or accountancy advice.

Electronic communications

Information that you send to us in electronic form may not be secure and, unless you are already a client, will not be treated as privileged or confidential. If you are in any doubt about sending us personal data electronically, please send it in encrypted form.

Client Relationships

We do not intend that any relationship between you and Fortus is or may be created by your access to or use of our site or any information contained herein.

If you wish us to act for you, it is important to ensure we can do so formally, by completing our standard client engagement process; and we reserve the right to decline to act if it would create a conflict of interest with any of our current or former clients.

If you have a query, and want us to consider acting for you, please call us, email us or otherwise contact us so that we can determine whether the matter is one for which we are willing or able to act. The telephone numbers for our offices are listed on our web.

If you submit information about a particular matter to us by email or otherwise without completing our client engagement process, you acknowledge that it will not be considered to be confidential.

Our liability

The material displayed on our site is provided without any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to its accuracy. To the extent permitted by law, we hereby expressly exclude:

  • All conditions, warranties, representations and other terms which might otherwise be implied by statute, common law or the law of equity in relation to our site or any content on it.
  • Any liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage incurred by any user in connection with our site or in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of our site, any websites linked to it and any materials posted on it, including, without limitation any liability for:
  • Loss of income or revenue; loss of business; loss of profits or contracts; loss of anticipated savings; loss of data; loss of goodwill; wasted management or office time; and for any other loss or damage of any kind, however arising and whether caused by tort (including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise, even if foreseeable.

This does not affect our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, nor our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation or misrepresentation as to a fundamental matter, nor any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Linking to our site

You may link to our home page, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage or infringe our intellectual property or reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.

You must not establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.

Our site must not be framed on any other site. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. If you wish to make any use of material on our site other than that set out above, please address your request to enquiries@fortus.co.uk.

Links from our site

Where our site contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Our site changes regularly

We aim to update our site regularly and may change the content at any time. If the need arises, we may suspend access to our site, or close it indefinitely. Any of the material on our site may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.

Emails

Please note that when we send you an email message, the information contained in it (or any attachment) is intended only for the person named in the email. If you receive a message in error, please immediately notify us and delete it. Any dissemination, distribution, copying, disclosure or use of any email message or its contents unless authorised by Fortus is strictly prohibited.

We cannot guarantee the integrity or suitability of any email for your computer. It is possible that our message to you might contain destructive programmes known as Viruses or Worms and we would advise you that we do not accept any liability for consequential effects caused to your computer, or others connected to it and that you should determine the likelihood of such content yourself.

Business e-mails are sent to you subject to our usual terms of business. When the content of an e-mail is a personal message, the sender is not acting in their capacity as a partner or employee of Fortus.

Viruses

We do not guarantee that our site will be secure or free from bugs or viruses.
You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programs and platform in order to access our site. You should use your own virus protection software.

You must not misuse our site by knowingly introducing viruses, Trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our site, the server on which our site is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to our site. You must not attack our site via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of service attack. By breaching this provision, you would commit a criminal offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. We will report any such breach to the relevant law enforcement authorities, and we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them. In the event of such a breach, your right to use our site will cease immediately.

Trade Marks

Fortus logos, Favicons and Hexigon Logos are registered trademarks of Fortus Limited.

Variations

We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. You are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we have made, as they are binding on you.

If there shall be any conflict between the provisions of these terms of use and the provisions of our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy then the provisions of these terms of use shall prevail.

International Women’s Day 2022 – Pledging to #BreaktheBias

“Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.”.

On 8th March, and every single day, we celebrate the achievements of women the world over.

Last year the Fortus team got involved in a whole host of International Women’s Day activity to celebrate female strength (here’s a recap). This year, we’ve gone bigger and bolder in support of the global movement and the ‘#BreaktheBias’ theme, asking our team at Fortus Business Advisors & Accountants what they’ll pledge…

 

A Pansexual Accountant’s guide to LGBTQ+ people

When I was first approached to come up with something to write about regarding the issues faced by the LGBTQ+ community within the context of Fortus to honour the month of PRIDE, it took some consideration. I have been working with the firm for nearly 7 years, on and off, with my not-so momentous ‘coming out’ being part of my time with the company too. I have been fortunate enough to have not faced many of the common obstacles cited by many so I’m keen not to overshadow the spectrum of voices that make up this amazing, wonderful and vibrant community – so take this as my guide, as a pansexual accountant, through the very basics of do’s and dont’s to the LGBTQ+ community.

BUSINESS ADVISORS AND ACCOUNTANTS

WHERE KNOWLEDGE, STRENGTH AND COURAGE DELIVER ON YOUR AMBITION

Tax Planning UK 2022 Award Winner

Following her recent shortlist nomination, we’re delighted to announce that Kat Hill, Innovation Tax Reliefs Tax Manager, has deservedly won the Tax Planning UK Award 2022!

Now in its 12th year, the Finance Monthly Tax Awards are designed to identify and celebrate the achievements of tax professionals, teams and firms and those connected to providing taxation advice and assistance, who have a proven track record in delivering results for their clients over the past twelve months.

Spring Statement 2022 – What you need to know…

Ahead of the Spring Statement last week, speculation centred around what the Chancellor might do in response to increasing financial pressure on families and businesses, and perhaps the announcements made were more low key than anticipated. Is there more to come? Quite possibly. On the whole, the announcements painted a picture of ‘give and take’ – here are the key updates:

NATIONAL INSURANCE

Despite what many had thought, the Health and Social Care Levy is here to stay, coming into effect in the UK on 6th April 2022.

What the Chancellor did announce was an alignment of the National Insurance threshold with the Income Tax personal allowance, meaning from July 2022 the income threshold at which point people start paying National Insurance will rise to £12,570. This brings a tax saving of £330 for employees, or £250 for a typical self-employed person.

Class 2 National Insurance Contribution (NICs) threshold for lower earning self-employed individuals also increases from April. Class 2 NICs on profits between the Small Profits Threshold (£6,725) and Lower Profits Limit will not be paid, but National Insurance credits will continue to be able to build up. This’ll benefit around half a million self-employed people by up to £165 a year.

 

FUEL DUTY

As of 6pm on 23rd March, fuel duty was cut by 5p per litre. This is the biggest cut to fuel duty rates in decades which’ll last until March next year.

 

INCREASING THE EMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE

The Employment Allowance, which gives relief to smaller businesses’ National Insurance payments, will increase from £4,000 to £5,000 from April.

 

BUSINESS RATES FOR gREEN TECHNOLOGY

The introduction of green reliefs (announced in Budget 2021) for eligible plant and machinery used in onsite renewable energy generation and storage, now take effect from April 2022, one year earlier than originally planned. Additionally, a 100% relief for eligible heat networks that have their own business rates bill are being brought forward from April 2023 to April 2022.

 

VAT ON INSTALLATION OF ENERGY SAVING MATERIALS

VAT on the installation of energy-saving materials will be reduced from 5% to 0% from 1st  April 2022 until 31st March 2027.  The additional eligibility conditions introduced in 2019 have been permanently removed.  The changes also bring the installation of wind and water turbines back into the scope of the relief.

 

 

 

Pride Month 2022: Pronouns

Happy Pride Month, everyone!

We wanted to make a continued effort with being an INCLUSIVE business. Therefore, myself and Gemma have written pieces on different topics around the LGBTQIA+ community, so be sure to have a read of hers here!

My chosen topic as an Ally of the community’s the topic of ‘pronouns’. I wanted to focus this article as an opportunity for education, because even as someone who’s always been in support of the community, I’ve (and admittedly, still do) lack knowledge in certain areas and wanted to learn more about the importance/significance of particular topics. Something I’d done over a year ago was display my pronouns on my LinkedIn and social media accounts, something which is becoming more and more common, as a way of showing support and inclusivity for the community.

So, what are Pronouns?

We all have pronouns! Whether it’s in first person (e.g. I, Me, Mine, Myself), second person (e.g. You, Yours, Yourself), or third person (which’ll be the main focus of this piece). It’s the way that we refer to people (or yourself). Whilst most people do use she/her/hers or he/him/his, in line with the gender they’re assigned at birth (i.e. female or male) – by assuming the gender of a person based on their appearance or their name, it isn’t always correct, accurate, or helpful.

Everyone has the right to decide what pronouns they go by, and it’s everyone else’s responsibility to use those pronouns correctly. We all want, and deserve, to feel seen.

Using someone’s correct pronouns creates an INCLUSIVE environment where respect’s shown and care’s demonstrated. The closest example for someone who’s never been ‘misgendered’ (the official term for using the wrong pronouns) is to perhaps think of a time where you’ve repeatedly been called the wrong name, or been given a nickname that you don’t like. It’s part of your identity and is disrespectful to knowingly (or unknowingly) refer to someone using incorrect pronouns.

How do I use Pronouns?

Pronouns commonly have a gendered association, and most people will generally fall within the gender binary e.g. men using he/him/his, and women using she/her/hers. Most of us were only taught these pronouns when we learnt English at school, and then not taught anything further on the topic. However, gender neutral pronouns can exist and are used – the most common being ‘they’ (but also others such as ‘ze’, ‘xe’), and are often used by non-binary people. These are individuals who don’t ‘fit’ within the constraints of a set binary gender of ‘man’ or ‘woman’.

The misconception around ‘they/them/their pronouns’ often is that it’s grammatically incorrect to refer to a singular person. This isn’t true. Gender neutral pronouns are useful for when someone perhaps doesn’t know the gender of the person they’re speaking about (e.g. “Sam’s a really nice person, I like them a lot”).

It’s also worth noting, some people may have more than one set of pronouns (e.g. using specific pronouns at work compared to at home). This can be for a variety of reasons, for example some people make this choice for their own safety, or because they don’t feel comfortable being ‘out’ in certain settings.

What if I don’t know what Pronouns someone uses?

You can do one of three things:

  • Use ‘They’: Using singular they/them/theirs until you’ve the opportunity to ask about their pronouns.
  • Ask: It’s perfectly acceptable to ask someone what pronouns they use, as it’s important to address them correctly.
  • Use their name: As easy as it may seem, usually using someone’s name is often accompanied by also using pronouns, often without realising. So it’s easy to make that mistake.

If you use the wrong pronouns for someone in a conversation and you immediately recognise it, correct yourself, apologise, and move on in the conversation. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes: they’re inevitable, but be aware of them, learn from them and, most importantly, keep trying.

What’s important here isn’t to make the situation about yourself, your intention, or make excuses about the mistake.

Equally, when others make a mistake – correct them with the right pronouns that person goes by (if you know) and carry on with the conversation. This is the most effective way to make using correct pronouns a standard practice in day-to-day life.

 

Let’s also address some common terms:

Sex: Sex is a label – male, female, or intersex – that’s assigned at birth by a medical professional based on the sexual organs a person’s born with and the chromosomes they have. This doesn’t necessarily match up with someone’s gender/gender identity.

Gender: Gender’s a bit more complex. It’s a legal and social position which includes the behaviours, characteristics, and thoughts that come from the expectations of society (e.g. dresses and skirts are associated with being clothes belonging to ‘women’ and ‘girls’). However, most gendered stereotypes are damaging and also not applicable to many individuals.

Gender identity focuses on internal perception and how much they align, or don’t align, with what they understand their options for gender to be (e.g. gender conforming, or non-conforming). Therefore, sex and gender are not the same thing – gender is much more about the individuals thoughts and ‘feelings’ (influenced by wider societal expectations), rather than the biological element of sex.

Cisgender: Refers to someone whose gender matches their ‘assigned’ sex at birth. For example, I was born as female and I also identify as a ‘woman’ as my gender. My pronouns are also reflective of my gender; so I go by she/her/hers. But again, this isn’t the case for everyone!

Transgender: Refers to someone whose gender is different from their ‘assigned’ sex at birth.

Non-binary: A spectrum of gender identities that aren’t exclusively masculine or exclusively feminine. Typically, these identities lie outside of the gender binary of male and female.

Genderfluid: Refers to a person’s gender identity changing overtime, or changes at different times.

Whilst ‘sexual orientation’ is the emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to other people. Whether that be of the same gender, different gender, or multiple genders.

What does correct Pronoun use achieve?

When we ask others what pronouns they use, we’re conveying respect and inclusivity. For people who aren’t cisgender, this is particularly important. If you’re a cisgender person, you likely haven’t ever experienced the stress of not being perceived as the gender you are. But for anyone who isn’t cisgender, this is an all-too-common occurrence. People who’re transgender, gender nonconforming, non-binary, and/or genderfluid experience a disproportionate amount of adversity and hardship on the subject of their gender.

Additionally, and importantly, incorrect pronoun use can increase that person’s dysphoria (the discomfort felt when a person’s assigned gender doesn’t match their gender identity), further complicating and even potentially harming their relationship with their body.

An easy way to ensure that you don’t assume someone’s pronouns is by using ‘they/them’, by default, when you don’t explicitly know a person’s gender. By using gender-neutral pronouns (and language), we can avoid making assumptions about another person’s gender, as well as avoid making any stereotypical assumptions about that person’s lifestyle.

In the same way, it’s important that all of us, where comfortable, make steps to be aware about pronouns. I mentioned that as an Ally of the community, I’ve chosen to disclose my pronouns despite being cisgender. This is because if it’s just people that don’t appear to ‘match’ their sex to their gender that specify their pronouns, they’re still being singled out. By making the ‘pronoun question’ a common one, we’re offering a space to those who too often have been unable to truly disclose who they are without singling them out for being different.

However, it should be noted that this isn’t the only act of allyship you can demonstrate, so if you’re not comfortable sharing your pronouns publicly, this doesn’t mean you don’t support inclusivity. Indicating your own pronouns is ultimately a personal choice.

Conclusion

We have a long way to go as a society to make non-cis people feel as safe moving through life as cisgendered people feel. Using the correct pronouns for trans, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and genderfluid people’s the easiest first step in this direction that cis people can take. The act of using correct pronouns serves to show others that you see them for who they are and creates safety for them.

Mastering correct pronoun usage is a great first step to understanding more about gender identity. The best way to overcome this hurdle’s simply to practice doing it. Like any new skill, within a short amount of time you’ll have made progress! Eventually it’ll be second nature and won’t feel daunting at all.

It’s an important move towards real inclusivity in the workplace and wider society. It creates a healthier, safe space so everyone can bring their ‘whole self’ to work and be respected for it.

Below are a list of useful resources relating to pronouns, that should help anyone who wants to know more, or those who want to start getting ready for International Pronouns Day which is the third Wednesday in October every year – this year being Wednesday October 19th 2022: