Sandie Peggie vs NHS Fife Health Board and Dr Beth Upton, following Employment Tribunal judgment - thread #62

[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 and it was reported on 3 August 2026 that leave to appeal had been granted with an expectation that the appeal proceedings could take place in court early next year (2027).

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

Thread 61: mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5472628-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-61 8 January 2026 to 3 August 2026

I'm so grateful to Sandie and her whole family for having the strength to go through this. It can't be easy for any of them and she is one in a million to be so strong and committed to fairness.

Thread SIXTY TWO!! 😮

Looking at The Archers thread series, if we want to be able to hold our heads up high, we need to be looking at 3 figures.

Excellent news - I wish her all the very best.

it was reported on 3 August 2026 that leave to appeal had been granted with an expectation that the appeal proceedings could take place in court early next year (2027).

Hurrah - I’m here for it.

Thanks @nauticant

Reporting for duty

Well done Sandie.

😊

Many of us on The Archers thread stand with Sandie!

Many of us don't know where to find the Archers thread (or the Archers, ok I know its on BBC radio) but still stand firm with Sandie and the magically deep pockets making it possible.

What a blessing to have such amazing women.
Its utterly amazing they found one another Sandie with the strength to go to court multiple times and the lady with the money and willingness to back Sandie to the hilt.

Thanks @nauticant for the new thread x

Lovely lovely people, the old thread aten’t dead yet. Please save the sanity of our sainted @nauticant and fill that one up first!

an expectation that the appeal proceedings could take place in court early next year (2027).

<hugs @nauticant >

<hands her a 2027 calendar>

Can I ask what she is appealing? I obviously have not followed the case as closely as people on here, but I thought she won her tribunal.

Only partially, and the judgement overall was a disgrace. Judge James Tayler has granted permission to appeal on 13 grounds of the judgment, with the appeal expected to be heard early next year.

Other thread was almost full. Thanks @nauticant, I have no doubt the archers threads (are they still going?) have a very serious rival.

Very grateful to Sandie, her legal team and her secret benefactor. And to @nauticant for the exemplary thread wrangling

I followed the tribunal with my jaw on the floor. I am hoping to see Big Sond's judgement torn apart. Especially the bit where Upton was found a reliable witness despite tampering with crucial evidence. Surely that meets the definition of perverse.

Now I have the Archers theme playing in my head.

'Peggie's legal team said the appeal covers the original tribunal ruling, a first correction that rewrote a key passage on how protected characteristics are balanced, and a second round of amendments which altered the wording of several substantive paragraphs.
The original 312-page judgement found in Peggie's favour on four counts but dismissed her other claims against both the health board and Upton.
It said some of her comments towards the doctor "amounted to an incident of harassment" and breached the health board's bullying and harassment policy.
Speaking after the ruling in December, Peggie vowed not to give up her legal fight.
At a press conference she said: "Whilst I am delighted that the tribunal was critical of Fife Health Board and found they harassed me, their judgement I believe falls short in many respects and that is why I certainly won't be giving up this legal fight any time soon."'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2l32y2vj4o

Including those of us there under a different name! <waves pom poms>

Anyway, it's all excellent news on the appeal front and all power to Sandie's elbow. I'm keeping my 2027 diary clear in anticipation.

13 grounds approved to appeal! That's quite, errrm, unusual?

In today’s Dundee Courier -

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/5549739/nhs-fife-sandie-peggie-appeal-hearing/

I wonder what they will do if they need Dr Upton to give more evidence ( sad times) since he is now wowing them down under with his compassion and extraordinary ability to bamboozle soothe anxious patients who only want to be examined by a female doctor

He will not (and cannot) give evidence at an appeal - evidence is not heard. But I suspect he will stick two fingers up and ignore the tribunal going forward.

DrU won’t be required to give evidence to the EAT as it’s based on points of error in law - you know like quoting a legal authority in a judgement where the quote is wrong and alters the authority.

EATs, Court of Appeal and SC are much dryer as its Barristers arguing legal points.

Sandie brings to mind something like the terminator or some other such manly film where the hero is armed to the teeth.……… all guns a blazing its so fucking startling.

her ability to stand firm is… gob smacking.

Upton's gone dahn under, presumably to try to practice his profession in a country where the law doesn't know what a woman is.

If the EAT uphold any of the complaints against him (assuming they're amongst the stuff that Sandie Peggie's team can appeal) could this have any effect on his fitness to practice and kibosh his new antipodean life?