Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton, following Employment Tribunal judgment - thread #60

[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.
Following handing down of the judgment on 8 December 2025, on 11 December 2025, it was announced by Sandie Peggie and her legal team that they would be pursuing an appeal.

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
Thread 58: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5458443-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-58 11 December 2025 to 12 December 2025
Thread 59: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5459115-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-59 12 December 2025 to 17 December 2025

Continuation thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5472628-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-61

Margaret Gribbon acted for nurse Sandie Peggie against NHS Fife: best part of her job?

“Righting a wrong for a client. The worst includes reading a disappointing judgment — especially when it takes you half a day.”

www.thetimes.com/article/eea17b93-486a-4d1c-a4cd-306debf0f729?shareToken=2d335e7187ca9c66d0c01777f8644d93

Oh my word!

Beautiful, elegant shade-throwing there, Ms Gribbon!

🔥

Kemp is going to need a lot of cream for that burn 😄

Thanks for the MG link and comments. There’s a bit of a flurry at the moment on TRA in The Times, is something happening? It might just be that they’re keen to expose Swinney and Phillipson with elections looming

What is the best advice you have received?

Of late, Naomi Cunningham’s “Ten easy steps to the perfect hearing bundle”. Her obsession with the perfect bundle is highly contagious and I have caught the bug.

maybe she can ping a copy over to RMWhite

The article says Peggie has lodged an appeal - not, will lodge one by Jan 19th - which is interesting. I wonder if we will see the appeal documents in due course?

(Wonder if I can get the last few posts here used up on this topic and whether that makes nauticant happy or sad? Sorry if sad...)

That would make me happy.

I would be surprised if the appeal has been lodged. Unless they've filed a Notice of Appeal to make sure that administrative step is complete with a statement included that full Grounds of Appeal are to follow with them going in close to the deadline

As well as judgments (see below), any member of the public (including journalists) is entitled to inspect or request a copy of any notice of appeal, respondent’s answer, or order. They are also entitled to make an application to inspect or receive a copy of any other document. Please refer to paragraphs 7.3 and 7.4 of the EAT Practice Direction 2013.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-staff-on-supporting-media-access-to-courts-and-tribunals/jurisdictional-guidance-to-support-media-access-to-courts-and-tribunals-tribunals-guide-accessible-version#employment-appeal-tribunal.

For anyone wanting to add to their own personal mountain of Sandie Peggie ET-related reading:

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/eat-pd.pdf

While I'm adding useful stuff to get this thread complete, this is interesting:

Guidance Regarding Remote Observation of Hearings at the Employment Appeal Tribunal

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Remote-Observation-Guidance-08-January-2025.pdf

It looks like rules governing such things are clearer once you get to the EAT level.

@nauticant thank you for your sterling work! Really above and beyond. I’m looking forward to what the 60s will bring.

These threads are now longer than the Ukraine ones, which are on #60 and have been going since Feb 2022.

I am posting on this thread to say a big, big THANK YOU to nauticant for her sterling work at thread wrangling, which is key to grassroots feminism and the fight for women's rights!

Thank you for the new thread - and for the link above.

Tes, thank you Nauticant. Much appreciated.

I'm feeling slightly down in the dumps, as every year for about the last 5 I've thought, this HAS to be the year that people see reason. And it never has been. The news about the Scottish government actively seeking ways to subvert the SC FWS ruling is shocking, but sadly unsurprising.

In an effort to fill up this thread so that @nauticant doesn’t need to tear out any more hair, may I take the opportunity to say:

James Esses has started a petition to parliament asking it to:

Cancel the clinical trial into puberty blockers & safeguard vulnerable children

A google search will find it.

Same here. I’m tired of writing to my MP, to ministers, to councillors, complaining to the BBC, signing petitions, contributing to crowdfunders, and then even when we win nothing changes.
But we have to keep going, we can’t give up, though it is utterly exhausting and thankless. It’s ten years since I woke up to all this, nowhere near as long as many people, so as long as they persist so will I.
I take comfort in the fact that with every year that passes more people peak and fewer children seem to be getting sucked in.
When you’re going through hell, keep going!

Thank you. Signed.

I've signed too.

Signed.

Me too, signed.

Continuation thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5472628-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-61