Sandie Peggie: Employment Tribunal, associated legal claims, and related matters - thread #63

[nauticant]

TLDR version: Sandie Peggie vs Royal College of Nursing is currently being heard. The hearing started on Wednesday 23 September 2026 and is scheduled to end on Thursday 1 October 2026.

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 were of sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. Dr Upton claimed 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 after a prolonged process judgment was handed down on 8 December 2025. That judgment is being appealed and an appeal hearing is expected to take place in 2027.

Additional legal claims have been raised. Sandie Peggie is taking action against the Royal College of Nursing, against three senior managers who were witnesses in the employment tribunal - Dr Kate Searle, Dr Maggie Currer and Esther Davidson, against Carol Potter, the chief executive of NHS Fife, for victimisation, against NHS Fife for discrimination, and against its director of people and culture David Miller for harassment. In addition, Sandie Peggie is being investigated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council over fitness to practice.

The past proceedings were live tweeted by www.x.com/tribunaltweets. Tribunal Tweets are likely to be providing coverage in current and future proceedings. There's additional information on Tribunal Tweets' substack: tribunaltweets.substack.com/.

Links to previous threads #1 to #60 can be found in this thread: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5379717-sandie-peggie-list-of-threads-covering-employment-tribunal-and-afterwards

Thread 60: www.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: www.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

Thread 62: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5562302-sandie-peggie-vs-nhs-fife-health-board-and-dr-beth-upton-following-employment-tribunal-judgment-thread-62 3 August 2026 to 24 September 2026

Not been watching - I hope Naomi will bring out that the RCN had an opportunity to celebrate sex realist views with the Supreme Court judgement. Not only did they not do so, their actions indicated support for GI.

I hope every member of the RCN who is not captured with write to them asking them to celebrate the day of Maya's victory and the anniversary of the Supreme Court judgement. Any other days that should be especially celebrated?

Any other days that should be especially celebrated?

Bin Invisibility Day

I was thinking the same. They know they’re bloody men when they want all those positions at the top whereby they get to control others including in a field overwhelmingly dominated by women.

But there’s suddenly doubt about men being men when they want to share single sex spaces for those at the bottom of the pyramid. Infuriating.

Then those back at the top of the RCN definitely know they’re men when they create “a misogynistic environment in which loud and abrasive male voices dominate the environment to the detriment of women”.

Incredible that this happens at a nursing union. So many ordinary nurses must be thinking "Gee, thanks for the magnificent leadership."

The only worrying bit from yesterday was J - struggling to keep up at the moment which suggests that she’s so unfamiliar with thinking how TWAW policies are harmful to women (it looked like the J said this after NC was saying no impact assessment of policy on wider female employees) that she wasn’t seeing where NC was going with her questioning.

The judge may be another one who makes longhand notes so wanting a slower pace?

Ah, that would be a more reassuring take on the comment.

I read it as note taking as we had this a lot in other ETs.

The Judge is using a laptop to type her notes.

I'm hoping that the Judge doesn't phone a friend to ask advice on a legal point as per Kemp. Or have a cod Professor on the panel.

Is the judge a 2 fingered typist though?

I can touch type. It just means I can make mistakes faster than average.

The sad thing is that women who need and want single sex spaces would have been glad merely for the crumbs of 'we understand that there are women who want and need this, and will be glad to provide for this group alongside our gold plated loving provision for people with gender identities, as obviously all people matter equally to us'.

But it's like the fantasy 'we could have GC badges' - even acknowledging these women is intolerable hostility.

Even a touch typist can't keep up with normal speech. A professional touch typist can manage 65-75 words per minute, whereas the average English speaking speed is 140-150 words per minute, with fast speakers reaching 170 words per minute or more.

Judges frequently ask lawyers to slow down so that they can digest what is being said and make notes.

But it's like the fantasy 'we could have GC badges' - even acknowledging these women is intolerable hostility.

I agree, it's like Twinkletoes's ET with Defra, he was convinced women being sex realist was an attempt to erase him. The chances of RCN's shop stocking GC badges are zero to infinity, I'd say the man was talking through his arse.

But if they do I'm going to buy one, if they sell to non nurses that is.💚🤍💜

The annoying thing about that pride-progress-rcn badge (or one of the annoying things) is that it looked so good. If it wasn't for what it represented, I'd def buy it.

If they make one as nice as that for sex realists, incorporating the suffragette colours, I think I will retrain as a nurse.

Late to the party - it'staken me 3 days just to catch ip from Wednesday. Just want to express appreciation to all the thread wranglers, C&Pers, and commentators. These threads are essential reading.

I would say that I try to be a Christian, and hope to be a Christian and pray to be a Christian by the grace of God. But it's hit and miss.

I go to church, read the bible, pray, but - all it takes is someone driving the wrong way round the one-way system in the car park for my inner evil to emerge.

Belief in having a gender is very vague and linked to culturally-specific stereotypes.

Echoing thanks from others to the C+P legends and all other commentators on here (plus Nick Wallis if reading!) for once again doing a mighty good job of keeping everyone up to date.
What number do folk think this thread will get to before it's over??

Judge was taking notes on a laptop. Fairly steady typing speed. Faster than Big Sond for sure.

She asked several witnesses to slow down when they were in full flow giving evidence. Not Sandie because she is the mistress of the short answer; yes, no, I don't recall. But everyone else, including Lisa MacKenzie and other two RCN members bringing claims.

I don't think it was 'I'm not following your logic or line of questioning'....I think it was 'I'm behind on my notes and want to catch what you just said'

Haven’t been able to watch or follow this in real time, annoyingly, as work has been full-on this week. So just catching up now.

A big thank you to all who have kept the thread updated, the cutting and pasting must be really intense.

Late to reply but I wonder if the difference is because Tinkerbell was an obnoxious, controlling but also vulnerable witness. NP is a senior union official and part of his job is to be grilled. I can understand why a judge might call off the dogs with Tinkerbell, much as he deserved to be savaged, but lets Naomi have her delightfully wicked way with NP.

I hope he goes home, has a stiff drink, cries and then subscribes to Sex Matters.

I would guess that your Christian faith doesn't require anything of anyone else? You don't, for example, expect anyone of another faith to refer to your God as the one true God, or to insist other congregations move aside to allow you to pray, etc etc?

Hmm, good point, well brought up 😁

Naomi is, I'm given to understand, always polite. She is just putting to the witness something she wished to use in submissions. That the witness is finding it difficult to have exposed in court just how badly his union behaved is just part of the process.

?

They ask to be allowed to practice their faith! Right to religion is a basic human right.

In any case there are many ways in which the two are not remotely equivalent, the analogy was simply to demonstrate that even if you start from a premise that gender identity is make believe, it makes little sense to say that DU is "claiming" to be trans , unless you are seeking to cast doubt on something in a manner that goes well beyond a simple descriptive account of the legal matters in this case.