Sandie Peggie judgment: What did the employment tribunal uphold - and throw out?
In a complicated judgment of more than 300 pages an employment tribunal has upheld some of Sandie Peggie’s claims but dismissed others
At more than 300 pages long, the tribunal judgment in the case of Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife is thorough and complex document.
Ms Peggie, a nurse at Victoria Hospital in Fife, took her employer and her colleague, Dr Beth Upton, to court claiming discrimination and harassment.
While Monday’s ruling has been hailed a victory for the nurse, it is only a partial victory.
Ms Peggie's claims of discrimination and victimisation by NHS Fife did not succeed and were dismissed.
The tribunal also dismissed the claims made against Dr Upton.
However, employment judge Sandy Kemp ruled that NHS Fife had discriminated against the senior A&E nurse.
Judge Kemp and the two tribunal members said the health board should have suspended Dr Upton’s permission to use the women’s changing rooms after Ms Peggie complained.
She had made her complaint in autumn 2023 but NHS Fife did not react by pausing the doctor’s access to the women’s changing room and looking for a longer term solution.
READ MORE: Sandie Peggie 'relieved' at ruling against NHS Fife as calls for resignations and apologies follow
Ms Peggie was suspended from work in January 2024 and the panel found NHS Fife took too long to investigate the claims against her.
It also said a claim that patient care was affected by Ms Peggie’s gender critical beliefs was not evidenced.
The nurse found out about the patient care allegations on March 28 with the judgment pointing out the complaints were not raised by Dr Upton at the time the medic said the issue became apparent.
It states it was "not clear why there was a formal allegation as to patient care, rather than as one of not interacting with a trans woman”.
The tribunal also found in favour of the nurse in regards to her claim that she was told by her employer not to discuss the case.
The tribunal dismissed the other allegations against the health board and all claims against Dr Upton.
Ms Peggie took her employer and colleague to court following an incident in a women’s changing room in Victoria Hospital in Fife.
One Christmas Eve, words were exchanged between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton over the doctor’s use of the changing facilities.
Dr Upton was born male but now identifies as a woman. The words that were exchanged are disputed.
The ruling, however, sets out that some of the nurse’s comments towards the doctor “amounted” to harassment and breached the health board’s bullying and harassment policy.
The tribunal, which heard evidence over a month from more than 20 witnesses, said it found Dr Upton to be more credible than Ms Peggie.
It said the nurse was “intrusive and confrontational” towards her colleague and her response to the doctor was a “clear invasion of privacy”.
The tribunal also tackled a concern raised during the hearing, in Dundee, which was whether transgender women are an equal risk to women as men are.
It found that there is “very far from sufficient reliable evidence to establish as a fact that a trans woman who is legally and biologically male is a greater risk to any person assigned female at birth within a changing room environment at a workplace than another woman assigned female at birth.”