Sandie Peggie: Employment Tribunal, associated legal claims, and related matters - thread #65

[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

Thread 64: www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5583133-sandie-peggie-employment-tribunal-associated-legal-claims-and-related-matters-thread-64 27 September 2026 to 29 September 2026

Trying to get SP to engage with numerous phone call requests and not recorded emails could easily have become ‘she said she said’. It reminded me of advice given to me about ‘Minutes of Meetings’, although not a legal setting I/members were accountable for decisions. I was advised, “If it’s not minuted it wasn’t said.” I assumed this to be true. If attempts were made to obfuscate or dismiss important details I would insist they were added and a redraft before approval. Better in than out and recorded.

I found this 2023 post from our very own shiny-carapaced @Boiledbeetle about it:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4905571-freda-wallace-on-now?reply=129500419&utm_campaign=reply&utm_medium=share

The preview blurb for his LinkedIn page does suggest he is pursuing a degree in Adult Nursing. No idea if it's true, of course.

I'd almost forgotten, but he also participated in doxing Dr P (as reported by Nick Wallis).

Not sure if this was raised but is Andy Burnham son a policy officer at the RCN?

Could the repeated request for phone calls with SP border on harassment? If someone has repeatedly said they're not comfortable with that and prefer email communications then surely to keep persisting isn't on.

There is a Jimmy Burnham who is a policy officer for RCN. His career history certainly tracks with being related to Burnham.

GT will go home to twenty missed calls and four job offers from NHS Fife after today.

Definitely a Band 8 performance, minimum

I wonder if there will come a point at which we stop seeing unions as being meaningfully continuous with the worker-protection organisations they used to be - and still represent themselves as.

I mean, in the same way that building societies used to be grassroots workers' savings bodies and are now only nominally popularly owned and controlled, and actually function as mainstream bank entities. Their history is still reflected in some additional responsibilities towards savers, but no-one really thinks of them as anything other than self-serving business entities.

Likewise The Co-op and the AA and RAC.

If we fully and explicitly recognise that unionsare not in fact serving the same purpose that they were formed for, what is their actual new purpose. I mean, building societies still provide me with a banking service. And the Co-op is handy. But the RCN?? What is it for?

Today’s Dundee Courier -
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5588777/sandie-peggie-union-rep-transgender-views/

Seems to be! He got himself a marketing internship at EV company at Andy's wife company and also a job as Labour case worker. Obviously just extremely lucky/talented to have got through competition for those roles.

Now a senior policy advisor for the RCN although Peggie saga started just before he joined. I just hope Sandy gets a fair deal and no political cover is being given to the RCN.

🎼(RCN, huh) Good God, y'all
(What is it good for?) Absolutely nothin'
Say it again

You see the RCN wanted support camels - but ticked the wrong box and ended up with a load of drama lamas instead.

But because the staff who complained didn't use the correct complaint buzz words "I don't want a drama lama" ... and instead voiced criticisms about the mess, the noise and the smell. The RCN concluded that there were no complaints and just left the drama lamas roaming the wards.

God That post is a blast from the past!

I can tell when I wrote that I was a tad annoyed by the caution marker a patient ambulance transport driver with a grudge against me had managed to get put on my file. ( A 6 month marker that took me 4 months to get them to agree was put on without all the facts and should never have been put on my file and that despite them promising to remove actually in the end remained live on the system for 9 months!)

Union accused of ‘indulgence towards trans-identifying men’

https://www.thetimes.com/article/c95a7f22-0e81-4b0f-ba03-22fb8da9a934?shareToken=e33106b7e8f2d29d1441fc7860b689e2

Worth clicking the link for the photo.

I'm still not entirely dissuaded from my initial impression, as she seems more proactive than SF, and Sandie may have been able to deal with her better if she hadn't been ground down by everything that had gone on before. It's the difference between being represented by a Lazy Arse and a Cover My Own Arse. But yeah, she doesn't seem to have covered herself with glory this afternoon.

Be sure to rest up @fanOfBen you will probably be more stiff and achy each of the next few days, before it gets better. Hope you recover as quickly and well as possible!

And for the direct quotation in the second from last paragraph.

Two lazy arses since once couldnt be bothered, of so she claims, to learn anything about the issues or the law or those things she actually needed to do her job. I guess selected for adherence to the party line, no ability required.

Wow, what an absolute load of shite! Glad you got it cleared but ... wow.

I also noticed how many deletions for accurate sexed pronouns there were in that thread and am pleased that at the very least on that point and on this subforum sanity has taken reign once more (and come to think of it, this tribunal)!

Taken with a wide-angle lens?

Unfortunately complaint about it all, and what led to it, is still with the PHSO who have been pissing around in much the same way as the RCN since December 2023!

Not everywhere, thank goodness. This spring an elderly female friend of ours here in deepest rural Wales (no district general hospital in the whole of the county because of sparse population) was taken to Telford with heart problems and transferred to the specialist cardiac unit at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where she had a stent inserted at the age of 87. The Vic is a disgrace if this is still their general rule of thumb.

As a bloke, I have come back to read 15 pages of utter lies and obfuscation from the RCN witnesses.
A lot of this stuff is flat earth comparable. I do hope that this judge is competent.
Thanks for all the people copying/compiling this stuff, I haven't read as this since reading Macbeth since my English Literature exam in 1975 - I passed.

I have just read NW tweets, about today’s proceedings. I am not touching on the detail here of the shit show.

i think what is coming out in cross examination is that both SF and GT are towing the line of the RCN whilst at the same time from their answers are trying to hide their real opinions.

But nevertheless on an occasional reflection thought they could have done better, but did indeed try to help, as best they could within the prevailing culture.

They are effectively “yes people”, with a loyalty to their employer. And spineless to boot.

i just got the impression and I don’t think this is fanciful, that the front line reps are as captured, confused, ill informed, and some as fearful as anybody else in the realms of healthcare, or anywhere else for that matter.

i think NC has skilfully exposed how the foot soldiers in the RCN reliant on position, kudos and wages, are not the real guilty parties.

i think NC went lightly with these two, and is saving her real ire for the next witnesses.

I look forward to that.

as an aside or something that may have been missed, i note the top dog at RCN Scotland Pullman contacted the rank wise lowly GT, re SP.

i wonder if this was a result of publicity and/or GM.

Thanks all, especially the transcribers etc- have just caught up.
Have had a busy, stressful few weeks and haven't posted lots but I do read and follow.
Just browsed the Rcn website; there's an interesting webinar (watched snippets) still available but they do state that it took place before the SC judgement.
Forgot look at the merch though!!