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

Thank God! I think she needs time to collect her thoughts. She's been all over the place (I feel!).

Well, this woman at least has the good sense (thus far) not to disagree with obvious truth. GT would already be in knots by now.

From TT:

NC So yes to my q - boils down to yes, not suggested everyone thinks that but many do.
PM yes
NC Most ppl whose livelihoods don't depend on paying lip service to GI
PM There's obviously a broad range of ppl who have that view.

NC To docs. RCN strategy. p 264. [trying to find if PM has full copy of pages]
NC you haven't got third column. Quite important and want to take in this order. [more discussion c pp and doc]
J A lot of screens on your desk. Could you pass over
NC Difficult cos each screen

[break, 10 mins]

I actually think it's worse than that. What we're seeing is that the absolute refusal by the RCN and its 'leaders' to exercise any professional or personal curiosity on behalf of the vast majority of its members has become not only acceptable but a virtue.

Maybe taken aback by having a witness not lie from the off...

Again from Nick Wallis as seems to be reluctance to answer here

NC do you agree that TiM should not be allowed to use W CRs is a statement of something quite a fundamental dissent from GI. Or rather it is a core GC belief. PM yes that would seem reasonable to say
NC so those majorities who don't think TiMs should use F CRs can be said to be GV
PM don't think it follows
NC didn't you just agree with both propositions
PM don't think they're opposites
NC even though you don't know the views of your M - can you agree that RCN Ms prob think that TiMs should not use F CRs
PM there will be a mixed range of views
NC no reason to think your members are complete outliers is there - you said they reflect society - so they will hold same view
PM yes [eventually]

raging - I got booted out, had to reboot whole laptop, now I'm wftchtj

Maybe she is off her tits on cold medicine.

😮that's no way to speak about 😇NC😇

The cold med is Night Nurse, presumably...

She's definitely not her usual self.

Also from Nick Wallis before the break

NC so it's not an outlying bigot who thinks TiMs shouldn't use F CRs - it's a lot of people who don't want to pay lipservice to GI]
PM wouldn't call someone a bigot who doesn't want a TiM in a CR [agrees with NC proposition]

From TT: [tidying up!]

connected to each laptop.
J I'll arrange for these to be printed. Break for 10 mins. To PM - important you don't discuss, and you'll remain under oath until we come back.
[ends]

@threadreaderapp Please unroll

We return for the second morning session, day 6, of Peggie vs Royal College of Nursing from Dundee Employment Tribunal. Peggie is taking action against the RCN, her union, for failure to support her during her employment dispute with Fife Health Board.

‘PM We were hoping for clearer guidance for our members as to how to care for patients in day to day work‘

That’s all fine and dandy. However, one thing is clear - men of any conviction are not women. Women are a biological sex class, and from that, you know how to care for women. Even how to accommodate women employees when it matters for reasons of safety, comfort and dignity. Single sex changing rooms, etc. etc.

You make sure that is understood tout suite, and clamp down on men being enabled to encroach upon women’s single sex spaces. Even as you’re separately cracking on with how to deal with the care of males of all, and any, persuasion. Nada to do with women’s single sex spaces.

Mic!!

For light relief there's another case that the judge presided at

Ah, she's noticed

From TT:

NC I'm not taking you to that quite yet. This doc, EDI strategy, 2024 only three years after Carr Report - which said misogyny etc
PM Yes
NC Would be worry in any org but particularly for RCN as a f-dominated org
PM yes
NC [to doc] columns c RCN ambition and then cols

headed where we started. Good work re EDI but some members had concerns and RCN having reflected want to be better. Talks c being truthful. Some members say RCN doesn't address their needs. Mentions Carr review and KPMG report. And then c RCN needs to be inc org

Ooft!

PM right now

From TT:

RCN Talks c cultural / systemic change. Five year strategy. Members able to assert their rights. Doc barely mentions sex
PM Can't completely see doc, will trust what you're saying
NC DH will take us to anywhere it does cover that.
NC Reads c RCN org principles, but

transforming uneven workplaces interactions. Poss your mainly f membership might think more important to stop discriminating against women and shouting down.
PM Not sure about your q
NC Carr review talks c m voice tending to shout down w, congress is opportunity for sex

From TT:

NC Shouldn't you deal with problems re w first
PM Other things were happening at the same time alongside and outside of the EDI strategy, inc a review purely on Congress.
NC To doc Let's Talk Inclusion. Beforehand if EDI barely mentions sex, given Carr report, don't your f

members have right to mind that is not prioritised
PM no
NC All all right, in light of Carr report
PM Other reports, inc KMPG, addressed urgently and ahead of this doc. Focussed eg on how elect and advertise members to council - done separately to EDI strategy

PM does good waffle

From TT:

PM Trying to address
NC So RCN had dealt with sex discrimination so not need to be in strategy
PM No. In strategy is c monitoring and having data to find what is actually happening to members. Meeting to bring tog members to discuss what areas they want us to focus on.

NC To gender/sex section. You can see all of this
PM Yes
NC It says sex used as legal term under EA and gender cos more inclusive term. All can experience problems under gender. Deprecating use of 'sex' RCN prefer gender as say is more inclusive

They had a vote and agreed not to be racist or discriminatory? WTF?

‘DH To Freda Wallace docs and the photographs. Looks like interior of building. exterior has RCN flags. Do you recognise
exterior?
PM RCN HQ in London
DH What was event
PM Event for any member to attend, on inclusion but specially c what areas they would want us to focus on in setting up member networks.
DH Formal training for members
PM no
DH Does RCN produce formal training fir member s’

That looks like splitting hairs. This looks very carefully asked, and answered. You know the bit ‘tell the whole truth’.

Was it organised by, or with any assistance of the RCN, as an ‘optional’ training session for its members? In ‘right-think’ indoctrination. This would be different than just renting out the hall/conference room to a random organisation for an event for the general public to attend. Say a knitting training course by a knitting business. Of course, RCN members who are interesting in knitting could attend that, but would not do it through the RCN, or hospital, and wouldn’t get to put it down as training in their nursing file (or whatever they call it)