Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton, following Employment Tribunal judgment - thread #58

[nauticant]

Judgment was handed down on 8 December 2025:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6936ce28a6fc97b81e57436a/S_Peggie_v_Fife_Health_Board__Dr_Upton.pdf

Sandie Peggie, a nurse at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy (VH), 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 was 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.

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 51: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5402652-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-51 1 September 2025 to 2 September 2025
Thread 52: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5403218-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-52 2 September 2025 to 4 September 2025
Thread 53: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5404208-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-53 3 September 2025 to 1 October 2025
Thread 54: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5418690-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-54 28 September 2025 to 21 November 2025
Thread 55: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5447019-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-55 19 November 2025 to 8 December 2025
Thread 56: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5456749-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-56 8 December 2025 to 9 December 2025
Thread 57: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5457132-nhs-fife-tries-to-silence-nurse-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-thread-57 9 December 2025 to 11 December 2025

She has 30 days (I think) from the judgement to lodge her request to appeal. Then that has to be approved, or denied.

But, there is no way Ben Cooper would be attaching himself to this if he didn't think the appeal would be allowed.

ETA: So what has been confirmed today is, her request to appeal the judgement.

So that's @nauticant locked in a room main lining caffeine for another 50 threads then!

Good on Sandie. She could have said 'enough' and been done.

And Ben! Yay!

I actually did this with both arms when I heard Ben Cooper was joining the collective. 😂

Interesting! There is definitely a scramble going on as they try to change something they shouldn't be changing. Very unedifying.

https://x.com/JRLevinsLaw/status/1999130328284230060?s=20

Does anyone know how long it might take to appeal/anything about the timeline now they’ve officially started the process?

And that it is progress and will be submitted next month

Sandie's case is funded. I've donated to the Darlington Nurses (again), as theirs is reliant on crowdfunding.

Last time there was a mass mailing to SP, I think a lot of us sent cards to the hospital - some of us sent postcards deliberately so the hospital would see the supportive messages.

I would like to extend my sincere sympathies to @nauticant , though.

#sadtimes for Nauticant

Thank you @nauticant for the live link. What a delicious moment.

<suspects nauticant is genuinely wondering will she ever be free>

Ah Sex Matters presented Sandie with a bouquet - that brought tears to my eyes.

Where BTW is Upton - he had the claims against him dismissed - shouldn't he be out there thanking his barrister and team for his "win"?

I think @nauticant is going to fake her own death at this point,

I like that idea of the Darlington Nurses, thanks, will do likewise. What a shame they aren't allowed to save time and combine the two into one mega appeal that'd lay down the law once and for all.

I'd like it to read. 'If you have a penis and balls then you don't go into the ladies' changing area or toilets. If you are an employer and you tell staff they can do this then you will be sued to hell and back.'

Blimey its all happening. Ben Cooper, excising a "clerical error" (Joey Tribbiani air quotes), appeal to be made. And it's not even a Friday!

Thanks, wims, for the updates, grateful as always.

Oh sorry, just saw this! So their paperwork goes in in January, then.

Is there a possibility of its being turned down flat, or does the judiciary need to respond by giving it a hearing? Who decides whether it goes to the SC?

Recording of the press conference up now for anyone who couldn't watch it live.

I think given that both parties were repped together by JR and her team I don't think they will be allowed to disarticulate an initial response. I suspect now that appeal is announced we will soon get a statement from NHSFife long-grassing their response and that Upton will be advised to keep powder dry.

That's where the language fools us though. There is no comprehension as you say. So I would argue that it does not learn. Humans know what learning is so they think that is what AI is doing. There should be other words invented for what it does because it does not learn.

Language is important. And it can manipulate your thoughts. Call me a conspiracy theorist (and a pedant).

I wonder if Ben knows women everywhere suddenly started smiling when his name was mentioned?

Yep. A better name than AI is 'fancy predictive text'.

Hear, hear.

I burst out laughing when I saw it was Ben Cooper as it's just superb news! Too good to be true 😀

Plus, did anyone else find that emotional seeing Sandie and her family? Let's not forget that her love for her daughter was called into question during that tawdry line of questioning from Jane Russell but the two of them ready for another round on this just made me really well up.

Go get 'em.

Deadline for appealing
You must appeal within 42 days of the date that either:

• the decision was sent to you
• the reasons were sent to you (but only if the Employment Tribunal did not provide reasons at the hearing or you asked for the reasons within 14 days of the decision being sent to you)

Your appeal must arrive by 4pm on the final day.
You can ask for an appeal to be considered even if it’s late, but extensions are rarely given, and you must have a good reason.

https://www.gov.uk/appeal-employment-appeal-tribunal/how-to-appeal

There was the highly relevant question asked earlier, does the formal correction move on the time period some days.

This is why I dislike AI. The sheer amount of waffle it generates that adds nothing and obscures the main points. All sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Also, wow. Go Sandie! Bring on the appeal!

Applications with no reasonable prospect of success are rejected on paper. Those with a reasonable prospect are generally determined at a reconsideration hearing.

From www.judiciary.uk/courts-and-tribunals/tribunals/employment-tribunal/employment-tribunal-scotland/after-the-hearing/