Trans people in the UK may be prohibited from accessing single-sex spaces based on their appearance, according to a leaked document from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

A copy of the document, which was seen by The Times, states that hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres may be allowed to question whether trans people can avail of single-sex services based on their looks or behaviour. The guidance also states that concerns raised by others may inform these decisions.

The leaked document, which has not yet been published, said organisations should arrange for suitable alternatives for trans people if they are excluded from single-sex spaces. However, it notes that due to building or financial constraints, this may not be “reasonably possible”.

The guidance also states that trans people may also be excluded from single-sex spaces that correspond with their gender assigned at birth on the basis that they may be “perceived” by others as the “opposite sex”.

Since the UK Supreme Court ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act refer to “biological woman” and “biological sex” earlier this year, the EHRC has issued and subsequently removed interim guidance in relation to the act.

The interim guidance stated that trans women can be excluded from women’s facilities. It also stated that in some cases, trans women may be prohibited from using men’s spaces and trans men may be prohibited from using women’s facilities.

Last month, however, the EHRC’s guidance on single-sex spaces was replaced with a statement urging the UK Government to provide “accurate and up-to-date” statutory guidance on the Equality Act. The EHRC has written to the Minister for Women and Equalities to request an “updated code in Parliament” which will replace their previous guidance.

Without guidance on the Supreme Court’s ruling over single-sex spaces, the EHRC said organisations must “comply with the law” and advised them to seek their own “expert legal advice” for guidance on gendered spaces.

The Good Law Project, which has launched a legal challenge over the guidance, said that despite the removal of the EHRC’s “rushed guidance”, the damage to trans people in the UK has “already been done”.