NHS Fife: How the story of the row between nurse Sandie Peggie and trans Dr Beth Upton unfolded
The key moments from the employment tribunal so far as hearing resumes
On Wednesday, the NHS Fife legal battle between nurse Sandie Peggie and trans doctor Beth Upton resumes for another mammoth evidence session.
Ms Peggie is suing the health board and Dr Upton after she was suspended following a row between the pair on Christmas Eve in 2023.
An employment tribunal began back in February and has dominated the headlines ever since. On July 16, it resumes for a further 11 days.
The Scotsman has taken a look back at how the dispute unfolded, starting from a hospital changing room and ending up in a tribunal that has gripped the country.
December 24, 2023
Ms Peggie and Dr Upton are both working at the A&E department at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
Ms Peggie claims she was experiencing heavy menstrual bleeding and went to use the female changing rooms - Dr Upton was using the changing room at the time.
The nurse said she did not want to share the facilities with Dr Upton, who was born male but now identifies as a trans woman.
At this point, Dr Upton had been transitioning for nearly two years, but did not hold a gender recognition certificate.
What was said between the pair is disputed, but within hours Dr Upton lodged a bullying complaint and had described what had happened as a hate incident.
December 25, 2023
In the early hours of the morning, emergency medicine consultant Dr Kate Searle, Dr Upton’s line manager, received the medic’s complaint against Ms Peggie.
Previously, Isla Bumba, the health board’s equality and human rights officer, had told Ms Peggie’s line manager Esther Davidson that Dr Upton had the right to use the female changing rooms because the medic identifies as a woman.
Dr Searle had agreed that Dr Upton should use the female facilities.
December 30, 2023
Ms Peggie is placed on special leave after Dr Upton complained of bullying and harassment.
January 3, 2024
Ms Peggie is formally suspended pending an investigation.
Emails from HR staff later reveal they had branded the decision to have an A&E nurse at home rather than on the night shift “ludicrous”.
Her suspension was later lifted, but new restrictions were placed on her shift patterns.
May 2024
Ms Peggie officially took legal action against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, saying she suffered sexual harassment and discrimination by being forced to share a single-sex changing room with a trans woman.
September 2024
NHS Fife tried to have the employment tribunal heard in private, and to have Dr Upton’s identity anonymised.
January 2025
Dr Upton’s legal team’s bid to have the tribunal heard in private fails and the tribunal moves ahead in public.
February 3, 2025
Ten days of hearings get under way at the tribunal centre in Dundee. Both Ms Peggie and Dr Upton give evidence during these hearings.
During the hearings, Ms Peggie frequently referred to Dr Upton as a man and used male pronouns while giving evidence.
Dr Upton said they had apologised to the nurse, but maintained they were still allowed to use the female facilities.
Ms Peggie denied using offensive language, but confirmed she had referenced “a biological man in a women’s prison” during the incident on Christmas Eve 2023. It is thought this refers to double rapist Isla Bryson - Ms Peggie insists this was a general comment about policy rather than a personal attack on Dr Upton.
February 5, 2025
Harry Potter author JK Rowling weighs into the debate and slams the cross-examination of Ms Peggie.
Posting on X alongside an image of Dr Upton, Rowling wrote: “Scotland: the country where a female nurse is currently defending herself in court against accusations of ‘harassment’ and ‘bullying’ because she objected to getting changed in front of the doctor pictured below.”
February 6, 2025
Dr Upton spoke in the tribunal for the first time, and described feeling “cornered and attacked” by the nurse.
Two days later, Ms Peggie’s lawyers compared Dr Upton to the torturer in the George Orwell novel 1984.
The hearing also looked at the email exchanges from the health board’s HR department which described Ms Peggie’s suspension as “ludicrous”.
February 11, 2025
An online crowdfunding appeal in support of Ms Peggie was launched. It said: “Let’s show Sandie some love and support, and imagine that when this is all over, she can treat herself to something she loves.
“We owe Sandie an enormous debt of gratitude for being the brave woman who stood up and said no!
“By standing up for herself, she’s standing up for all women.”
The crowdfunder raised £38,555 in 42 days from 2,288 supporters.
February 16, 2025
It is reported that Ms Peggie’s lawyers had written to Health Secretary Neil Gray in June 2024, warning him that NHS Fife may have acted illegally as it was failing “to comply with its legal obligations to provide suitable workplace single-sex toilets and changing facilities for its staff”.
February 19, 2025
Health Secretary Neil Gray refused to back Ms Peggie in her employment tribunal during a visit to nearby Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline.
He said the Scottish Government expected public bodies to respect both single-sex spaces and trans rights.
February 21, 2025
The Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to NHS Fife and asked for key policies and impact assessments on the provision of changing rooms to be disclosed.
March 4, 2025
It is reported that NHS Fife has refused to disclose how much money it has spent on the case defending Dr Upton.
March 6, 2025
Former equalities minister Emma Roddick tells The Steamie politics podcast she feels sorry for Dr Upton and condemns the way the medic has been treated.
April 10, 2025
It is reported that NHS Fife sought to ban the tribunal from being livestreamed.
April 16, 2025
For Women Scotland wins its legal case against the Scottish Government when the UK Supreme Court ruled that the terms “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex only.
In the immediate aftermath of this ruling, there were several calls for NHS Fife to drop the case between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton. The health board refused to do so.
April 18, 2025
Ms Peggie says she will be donating £19,500 to the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society and £10,000 to the Scottish Society for Rheumatology on the back of the crowdfunding campaign set up earlier in the year.
May 21, 2025
It is reported that Ms Peggie had demanded clarity from the Royal College of Nursing, her own trade union, on whether or not it raised concerns about single-sex spaces with NHS Fife.
June 13, 2025
UK Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says NHS Fife should be “grovelling and apologising” to Ms Peggie.
June 18, 2025
Ms Peggie goes to the Scottish Parliament and meets with several politicians, including Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay.
First Minister John Swinney and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes both decline an invitation to meet with her.
June 23, 2025
It is reported that Ms Peggie’s legal team asked to search Dr Upton’s phone to look at notes the medic had taken about the interaction on Christmas Eve. This was refused.
June 25, 2025
There is a separate internal disciplinary investigation ongoing at the health board against Ms Peggie.
This disciplinary claims Ms Peggie misgendered Dr Upton and put patients at risk by refusing to work with the medic. This includes a claim she walked out of a resuscitation unit when Dr Upton entered, leaving a patient unseen.
Ms Peggie says these claims are fabricated.
If this investigation rules against Ms Peggie, she faces being sacked. It is understood she plans to take more legal action against NHS Fife if this investigation does find against her.
July 7, 2025
It is revealed the employment tribunal has cost £220,465 so far. As there are still 11 days of hearings still to take place, this cost will likely continue to rise.
The costs were published to comply with a requirement from the Scottish information commission, David Hamilton - he had previously said the health board’s actions were “extremely frustrating” and had warned NHS bosses they could be in contempt of court if they did not comply with FOI laws.
The health board has said it will accept liability for any claims if it succeeds.
June 15, 2025
Ms Peggie is cleared of gross misconduct in the internal disciplinary investigation.
July 16, 2025
The employment tribunal is due to resume for a further 11 days.
The maximum pay-out Ms Peggie will receive if she wins is £25,000.
At most, the health board will have to pay £25,000 - a national risk scheme designed to protect NHS boards from significant losses will pay any further costs, and will also cover the cost of any pay-out to Ms Peggie.
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