Why are people criticising Halifax and what has been said?

The banking service has announced that the company will be making a change to name badges for staff, causing an uproar from customers online.

The name tag change was described as ‘nonsense’ by angered customers, who told the bank they were ‘off their heads’ for the change.

But how have the name badges been changed and what has the bank said in response to the backlash?

Here’s everything you need to know:

Why has Halifax been criticised by customers?

Halifax has come under fire after the bank announced that it would be changing staff’s name badges to include pronouns.

In a post on Twitter, the bank wrote ‘pronouns matter’ alongside a photo of a name badge.

The name badge reads: ‘Gemma’ with ‘she, her, hers” written underneath.

Customers have voiced their views on the name badge change via social media, with one stating ‘how do I cancel my account?’.

However, not all customers were against the move.

One user backed the decision, stating: ‘Of course they do. Honestly "what are your pronouns?" is literally the first thing I ask the customer service advisor when I visit my local branch of Halifax.’

What has Halifax said?

The bank has explained its decision to change the name badges on Twitter.

Halifax said: ‘We want to create a safe and accepting environment that opens the conversation around gender identity.

‘We care about our customers and colleagues individual preferences, for us it’s a very simple solution to accidental misgendering.’

The bank also said the option to add pronouns to staff badges was ‘completely optional.’

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Halifax also told customers that they could withdraw their account if they were upset about the change.

The service added: ‘We strive for inclusion, equality and quite simply, in doing what’s right. If you disagree with our values, you’re welcome to close your account.’

It later posted details of how customers can close their accounts.