NHS Fife tries to silence nurse - Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton - thread #51

[nauticant]

Sandie Peggie, a nurse at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy (VH), has brought claims in the employment tribunal against her employer; Fife Health Board (the Board) and another employee, Dr B Upton. Ms Peggie’s claims are of sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. Dr Upton claims to be a transwoman, that is observed as male at birth but asserting a female gender identity.

The Employment Tribunal hearing started on Monday 3 February 2025 and was expected to last 2 weeks. However, after 2 weeks it was not complete and it adjourned part-heard. It resumed on 16 July and the last day of evidence was 29 July 2025. It resumed again over 1 to 2 September for closing submissions.

The hearing commenced with Sandie Peggie giving evidence. Dr Beth Upton gave evidence from Thursday 6 February to Wednesday 12 February 2025. Sandie Peggie returned to give more evidence on 29 July 2025.

Access to view the second part of the hearing remotely was obtainable by sending an email request to [email protected] by 5pm on Wednesday 9 July. Detailed instructions were provided here:
drive.google.com/file/d/16-9POEZ7yHWUr6EmbfquJZO18Gv78bSm/view

The hearing is being live tweeted by x.com/tribunaltweets and there's additional information here: tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/peggie-vs-fife-health-board-and-dr-005 and tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/peggie-vs-fife-health-board-and-dr-bd6. This also has threadreaderapp archives of live-tweeting of the sessions of the hearing for those who can't follow on Twitter, for example: archive.ph/WSSjg.

An alternative to Twitter is to use Nitter: nitter.net/tribunaltweets or nitter.poast.org/tribunaltweets

Links to previous threads #1 to #50 can be found in this thread: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5379717-sandie-peggie-list-of-threads-covering-employment-tribunal-and-afterwards

Thread 50: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5387893-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-50 7 August 2025 to 1 September 2025

I'm confused - is JR trying to submit more evidence?

Hasn't the window for that closed?

Just had a

Most peculiar

From NC

They're arguing over manifestation aren't they? I'm surprised this wasn't the basis of their case in the first place.

From TT

team including one who is now a KC. This is an amendment of v great substance and affects the legal argument in the case.

As to timing: hard to envision how application to amend could be made at a later date. Last poss minute. The ET3 was presented in June 24 and that's when case should have been properly pleaded.

[NC goes through meetings with judges]

Two day prelim hearing in Nov with J Tinnion - R must have been in stage of formulating disciplinary charges by then. J Tinnion order in January reflects GoR - nothing in that suggesting

from herald
11:31am
Ms Peggie’s lawyers say NHS Fife is effectively trying to amend its case “at a very late stage”, in a way that would add “very great substance” and “significantly complicates” matters.
They stressed the board has been represented throughout by experienced specialist lawyers — and by Ms Cunningham, who became a King’s Counsel earlier this year — so there was no excuse for leaving this so late.

Yes, but they were laid down by the UK Parliament so the EU and Brexit has nothing to do with it.

See paras 397ff of NC's final submissions.

Think the herald have mixed up JR and NC

From TT

objectionable manifestation of C beliefs. Most peculiar point for R to fail to raise these points was in a meeting with me/JR, and now at the beginning of this session, no application. And when our long written closing was delivered on 26 August - the eleventh hour.

I do hope the judge sees through all the crap from NHS Fife and Dr Upton.

I appreciate there's an awful lot of it for him to wade through though!

NC pointing out just how many previous opportunities the experienced legal team for NHS Fife have had to make this application to change the defence.

huh? Is this change to their pleading based on hearsay?! Really?! 🤔

Scraping the barrel here surely?

From TT

Application should have been made on 27/28 - but still not. And yesterday when you Judge raised matter, even then JR didn't say I should make application now, even if I don't think I'm wrong. Then light seemed to have finally flamed in the hours - 23.20 last night - that such

So basically NC, in closing submissions, has pointed out the respondents haven't said that their defence will include SP's manifestation of belief.

JR is now asking for this to be added.

NC listing all the times this has been brought up before and all the chances JR had to raise this earlier.

No explanation for the delay, and no apology!

Do you think Robin and (twirly cloak) "Batman" have been talking to NHS legal (hence the late amendment)?

I'm not viewing, but from TT NC sounds pissed off - can observers confirm: is she magnificent when she's angry?😃

Fessing up - I stole the Pete in the Zebra Stable and the Zebra in t-shirt and put them on X. I did screenshots so no meta data.

Well you can understand why. Who would guess JE was the KC based on this performance?

We only see her hands

She's certainly being calmly scathing about JR's behaviour.

NC is more than angry - her hair is almost literally on fire.
She 'umms' more than normal when she's angry.

From TT

an application might be necessary. It has been make without any explanation of the delay. JR hasn't explained to tribunal why so late, even though application for tribunal's considerable indulgence. And comes with not explanation or apology. Should have come with candid

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooft. Apology.

That's a nice dig at JR who has insisted throughout for apologies.

Sadly we can only see her hands. But they are magnificent hands and they look rattled.