Sandie Peggie: Employment Tribunal, associated legal claims, and related matters - thread #64

[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: www.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 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

Thread 63: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5581909-sandie-peggie-employment-tribunal-associated-legal-claims-and-related-matters-thread-63 24 September 2026 to 27 September 2026

It's giving me extra energy to clean, as a way of venting my frustration!

Yes, it was very noticeable in Sandie's first tribunal that everyone on the front bench (claimant's and respondents' counsel) was female.

It's completely rage inducing.

I wonder if the RCN will be advised to 'reflect on their values'?

From TT:

DH U refer to the reflection [reads re req for more info as cldn't find it]
JM No, this is about writing a reflection. I cldnt do this
DH No that's later [reads re req to write it after things ahave closed]
JM That's what they needed from me. It's what it says.

There's nothing else they needed. I said I was on leave and cld I write it later. I said I was in a dillema as redeployed and on final written warning
J DO u accept that u didnt raise problem with reflection?
JM I did on the phone. I wasnt thinking straight and v upset

Yes, I think saying 'thank you' in advance is very customary, I don't think DH was remotely convincing on that line of implication.

Chance would be a fine thing.

It is obvious that by August, having been given the run around by the RCN, Jennifer had not only had enough, but was suffering a serious impact on her mental health. Shame on the RCN.

From TT:

DH U said no-one wanted to support u. In fact it was offered to u - as per the email
JM I needed to speak f2f and was promised this, but each time it didnt happen
DH Are there things y're saying today that u didnt say to RCN at the time
JM [missed]

DH Email on p1251, the last correspondence that year between you
JM It;s about leave and saying taking over yr case
DH Yr case has been passed on to a new officer. On Sept 5th, this officer asks u for an update on yr sitn or planning a call

When you are in the midst of a mh crisis, you will not be opening post/emails, it can sometimes be too much. You close yourself off.

edited to remove a comment on something I can't see in TTs.

Is it that the RCN were prioritizing the perceived pronoun infringement rather than their member's mental health?

Yep.

They can't have been completely oblivious to her worsening mental health so none of this is making them look like the Good guys here.

I wish NC or the judge would ask for a break for her.

From TT:

JM I felt being ignored and having to give my statement again and again. there was no handover. It was like starting from scratch and so frustrating.
DH I dont think u responded to this email
JM I felt ignored. I kept being told ppl were on leave. My friends cld see and

referred me on. I was losing my mind. I felt i was being punished. They left me in a limbo. They kept promising
DH MY Q was about not responding to email
JM No, I think I called. I was fed up with having the same emails again and again. How long wld this go on

NC sounds like she has a cold.

I'm afraid that for some observers, DH is succeeding in portraying JM as over-emotional, irrational, and therefore whatever she was asking of the RCN was OTT and they couldn't possibly be expected to fulfil her irrational demands...

Reducing her to tears and making her talk about being frightened and her children being frightened is all grist to his mill, I suspect.
Nasty, but effective to some observers - hopefully not the judge.

He is also wilfully misinterpreting what 'support' is to somebody in JM's position of being thrown into a whirlpool of accusations and threats to her livelihood.
But look, they emailed you this! Yes it was months later, but they did email you!

Done. Break for 10 m

From TT:

DH Your 1st contact we have between u and D'ton nurses is a long time later. why is this?
Jm I was ve depressed and in a bad state. I was suspended and wasnt myself. The RCN not standing with me and the delays
J When were u ref to DNs? U dont know?
JM Yes

[no reexamination, break]

It would be a hell of a lot more distressing to be given the wrong catheter as a result of the medical staff going along with your delusions.

I'm not sure this is coming across very convincing in terms of evidence of RCN refusing support because they are anti gender critical. Sounds more like the usual frustrations of dealing with bureaucratic organisations..

Your post implies that this patient has a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. Are you aware of any documentation regarding this? If not, how do you know that his distress was caused by gender dysphoria?

IIRC the man reacted violently, necessitating restraint by the prison guards. Is that something that is a justified response to one incident of an entirely necessary correct sexing of a patient?

Such a clash between what JM needed and what RCN provided... but I felt that was a car crash and I hope NC has a plan to make it positive. I which JM had been able to just answer the questions - she was understandably very keen to get over how damaging it was to her, but quite frankly this case isn't about that. I was left with the impression that she perhaps wasn't capable of engaging with what RCN offered, but not with the impression that they did anything wrong, let alone that they did anything wrong because of any PC she had.

Absolutely no justification for a patient being violent to a nurse.

agree.

Thanks very much for the transcriptions