Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton, following Employment Tribunal judgment - thread #61

[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 #60 can be found in this thread: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5379717-sandie-peggie-list-of-threads-covering-employment-tribunal-and-afterwards

Thread 60: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5461133-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-60 16 December 2025 to 8 January 2026

Just seen this on X:

Link to sun article on X

”Trans doc at centre of landmark Sandi Peggie court battle quits NHS”

Bloody hell. Why do we Aussies have to get him? Probably he knows that Australia is still deep in Be Kind Transactivism and he can impose himself on women here will the full support of management.

That was a great piece from Janice Turner in The Times. I’m so angry that Sandie’s health has taken a battering from all this - she’s suffering from insomnia and high blood pressure. She can’t do the job she loves and is great at, an utter waste of her talents, because of one man’s delusion being supported by a completely misguided institution 😡

Two thoughts: it may be very difficult to transfer medical credentials to other countries.

And secondly, if he's not in the UK, if SP wins damages against him (he is a defendant, remember) she may find it hard to enforce collection.

Maybe that’s why he’s skipping off there.

That certainly wouldn’t work with TRA activist Jo Grady.

The path to Australia is well trodden by UK medics. I don't know how long they can stay but I know two doctors about the same age as Upton who have recently got hospital jobs in Sydney. I don't think there is any issue about recognising qualifications.

My other thought is that it's much more difficult to extract answers for the purposes of legal or disciplinary proceedings from someone on the other side of the world.

UK to Australia is an easy move for qualified medics and healthcare professionals. Preferential visas, and a fairly simple process to validate qualifications. As a junior doc he'll need a year of supervised practice before getting full registration, but there will be plenty of hospitals that offer that.

The depressing thing about this is after having destroyed Sandie's life and harassed her he gets to start over in Australia, and get out of any possible repercussions. He may avoid even giving more relevant testimony after NHS Fife backed him to the hilt. All of this episode will effectively be erased and he will be able to force himself into getting changed with women to his hearts content and sod how they feel.

Meanwhile such an option just isn't available to Sandie. The pathway to Australia is closed. She's too old. She wouldn't be able to settle permanently. So she's stuck herewith her career in tatters and having to face this to its conclusion and with no guarantee that any outstanding action is now enforceable against Upton.

Honestly it should be prohibited to be able to skip the country in this manner whilst proceedings are ongoing. And if it's found to be problematic Upton should simply be disbarred.

It's so fucking cowardly and it says so much about his character. It's got fuck all to do with his trans status. He's a creep and a runaway liar. An ungrateful one at that.

The best we can hope for is he hates the heat and the wildlife and get incredibly homesick.

I wonder whether Dr Seale and others at Fife who were unquestioning in their fulsome support of Upton are concerned (or thankful) that he may now not be giving evidence when their cases come up.

I am also mindful that he raised hackles (allegedly) at previous placements. Perhaps getting a job won't be that easy given his behaviours (taking notes about perceived slights, exaggerating grievances, avoidance in complying with technological requests, etc.

@CriticalCondition My first thought was going abroad is one way of avoiding cross examination in the witness box if the ET is reheard. Dr U would obviously be questioned under oath about the two professional misconduct allegations and possibly his phone records.

Upton has not gone far from where he grew up, it’s unusual for medics to train and work so close to their home town. I think he might find Oz a bit of a shock.

I wonder what the NHS Fife handmaidens think about him buggering off to Australian and leaving them to deal with the fallout.

Surely if the GMC actually did something about the complaints they received during the Tribunal then Australia wouldn’t be facing the problem of a man who crosses patients boundaries, lies about his colleagues and doesn’t understand the basic concepts of biological sex.

Instead, off he saunters to wreak havoc on another set of patients, colleagues and medical boards after his single sex care admission AND the clear evidence he’d falsified information and accusations of patient neglect against a colleague. Oh, and got offended and complained about a dementia patient calling him ‘son’

Good luck, Australia, he’s clearly not fit to be around patients or staff but the GMC don’t seem to see a problem with him at all.

I hope his wife has seen sense as she looked like a hostage through most of the hearing.

That he's the victim, of course. Probably they're secretly happy that they can sacrifice themselves for Beth's Greater Cause and thus be even more sanctified. I'm starting to believe in the suicidal empathy theory...

On an unrelated note, have the appeal documents been released by any chance? I am so looking forward to some quality Ben Cooper KC!

Also wondering about this. Surely the Aussie authorities ask a version of “is there an open investigation with your current regulator?”

Single-sex IS gender-neutral. Female people, whatever their gender identity, use female toilets and male people, whatever their gender identity, use male ones.

I wish people would pick up on this conflation of sex and gender. It helps no-one, trans or otherwise.

If you mean mixed-sex then say that.

Running away to Australia? How brave.

Does a doctor's registration with the GMC show where they are currently practising?

Does a doctor's registration with the GMC show where they are currently practising?

No, but there is some evidence as the listing shows the doctor's Responsible Officer (for appraisal & revalidation purposes) who is normally the Medical Director of the Trust that employs the doctor.

She doesn't look like she is thriving to me.
Her eyes say it all.
She has been to hell but not back yet.
The process is the punishment.
That is clear.

The men and the many traitorous women who support them are sadistic bastards, one and all.

Thank you. How quickly or at what intervals does that information have to be updated?

It should be updated immediately there is any change & I think normally it's the new employer that informs the GMC about the change. However if the doctor leaves a post & is then unemployed or working in a dodgy gender/slimming clinic then it probably won't get updated.

I just checked the entry for Beth Upton & it says "This doctor is not currently connected to a Designated Body." which means he isn't working. He is less than five years post qualification so basically he can only work within the NHS & not a dodgy gender/slimming clinic.

Before he could work abroad he needs to apply to the GMC for a certificate of good standing. https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/managing-your-registration/proof-of-registration/request-a-certificate-of-good-standing-from-us

Very helpful, thank you.