How Santander Provides Support for Trans Employees
Interviews
Jack Eves, Transaction Screening Risk and Control Manager at Santander UK, spoke to myGwork about his coming out story, his transition journey, and the inclusive culture at Santander. From finding himself to tackling stereotypes, Jack talks through the support he has received from the company.
About Me:
My name is Jack; I am 27 years old and from Liverpool. I have a 1-year-old puppy called Mildred, she is English Mastiff cross Scottish Deerhound so she is about my height on her back legs (although I am only 5’3, so that could be more impressive!), a cockatiel called Buzz (named after Melvins lead – not Lightyear!) and a wife called Shabs, we got married in 2021 just after lockdown.
My Career Journey:
I have worked for Santander since I was 18, so coming up to 10 years soon. I started in the business banking call centre, I then moved to Financial Crime to what was AML Payment Screening at the time (now Transaction Screening), I then worked in User Functional Testing where I tested source systems and workflow tools for Transaction Screening, I moved into a Transaction Screening QC role within the area, and I now work as a Transaction Screening Risk and Control Manager within the Financial Crime Centre of Excellence.
Telling Mum:
I finished college in 2013, and I was headed to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to start a degree in Contemporary Performance Practice. Before I went (shortly after my 18th birthday), I told mum that I’m a boy. She wrapped me up in a hug the minute I told her and let me know that we were going to sort it out, not to worry. I am incredibly lucky to have the family and friends that I have around me, every single one of them has lifted me up since I came out.
Finding Me:
For my entire life I had felt a little out of place, I couldn’t put my finger on it but something wasn’t right for me. I remember leaving school in year 6, and the boys’ parents had all organised a fancy limo/party bus to collect them from school on the last day, and the girls’ parents had done the same, but I wasn’t invited on either. The boys thought I was with the girls, and the girls thought I was with the boys. I remember walking home alone and feeling like it was just me who couldn’t fit in with the rest of the world. I remember trying to imagine my future, but I never could. I couldn’t imagine myself growing into an old woman, the thought alone made me uncomfortable but beyond that it was out of my comprehension. It sounds strange but my body felt like it didn’t belong to me and at times, almost alien.
Leaving Home:
I left for university not long after coming out, and I stuck it out for about a month or so before deciding it was not my time yet and coming home. I was so fresh in my transition and adulthood that I really struggled to adapt to not only a new environment and new social crowd with less support than I had at home, but also to the adjustment of living life as a man. I couldn’t help feeling more like a lost little boy at the time, trying to figure out who I was and if I could still enjoy things that weren’t traditionally masculine without feeling invalidated. I had a new name (mum picked it), and I was equipped with a new passport. Really, I was the same person I had always been but I started feeling like myself for the first time ever.
Starting my transition journey:
I came home from Glasgow so that I could have my family and friends around me and be closer to the Gender Recognition Centre in Leeds where I was referred to. The NHS wait was 2 years at the time but ended up being longer. Upon returning to Liverpool, I had just got a job at the Everyman Theatre, so I saved my money and went to London for private care, I saw an endocrinologist for hormones in 2015 and have been on Testosterone since, I have an injection every 12 weeks and I will do for the rest of my life. Some people were sad that I was transitioning initially and thought they would lose me. Over time, it became apparent to everybody that I was just visually becoming the person I had always been, the outside was starting to match the inside. I grew in confidence, self-worth, happiness, and after transitioning for close to 10 years at this point, I have grown massively in patience – the physical changes take a while!
Surgery Starts:
I have been through around six surgeries now; I would say on average I have had one operation every year for the last six years. Four have been on my chest, the first being removal of tissue and then various revisions due to aggressive scarring, and I have had two out of three rounds of lower surgery. My first was ten hours with a three month recovery, and the second was eight hours with a three month recovery. I am currently on a waiting list for the final stage of lower surgery and expect to have a surgical break hopefully after this year or next. One thing I can say for sure is so far, so good!
Starting at Santander:
I started working for Santander after I had come out, but before I started Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) – the support that I have received from Santander has been second to none. My management have always been kind, attentive, sensitive, and supportive. Whether it has been to talk through what I need, what they can do to help me, understanding the ups and downs that come along with HRT and lengthy surgical procedures. Sometimes it can be difficult to navigate emotionally, and Santander have always been understanding of that. The Employee Assistance Program has also been a huge help for me, and I would implore anybody thinking of utilising the service to do so.
Choice or who I am:
A lot of the time I get the impression that people view transitioning as a choice to a degree; not a choice in terms of how you feel, but rather a choice acting on those feelings – but for me, it is and was as simple as doing what I needed to do to stay here and live my life, alive and with a real smile.
This is just a very brief snapshot of my experience, there are many layers to the story but thank you for reading. If anybody has any questions or would like to reach out please do not hesitate, wherever I can help I would like to, and thanks to the Embrace Network for facilitating!
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