A nurse has given evidence at an employment tribunal in Dundee, claiming that her union representative did not treat her concerns about sharing female changing facilities with a transgender colleague with sufficient seriousness.
Sandie Peggie is pursuing a case against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), alleging the union failed to provide her with adequate support and legal guidance following her suspension by NHS Fife. The suspension came after she lodged a complaint about her behaviour toward Dr Beth Upton, a transgender woman. The RCN contests these allegations.
This tribunal marks the second employment dispute Peggie has initiated relating to the same underlying disagreement with Upton. In December 2025, Peggie achieved a partial victory in her initial claim for harassment against NHS Fife, though the tribunal dismissed her allegations of discrimination and victimisation. According to her legal team's confirmation on 31 July 2026, the Employment Appeal Tribunal had authorised her appeal against the December 2025 ruling to proceed to a full hearing.
The hearing before employment judge Melanie Sangster began on 23 September 2026 and was scheduled to run for seven working days, with sitting dates across late September and early October 2026.
How did the original dispute begin?
The conflict originated from encounters between Peggie and Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy towards the end of 2023. Following these incidents, Peggie was suspended and subsequently met with RCN representative Stuart Fraser to discuss her situation.
During her tribunal testimony, Peggie described Fraser as appearing pleasant and explaining the expected duration of the disciplinary process. However, she stated that Fraser suggested she should regard her suspension
"as an extended holiday".
Peggie later reflected on this conversation, telling the tribunal:
"After speaking with Stuart I got the impression he wasn't taking it as seriously as I was, or considering anything legal."She also told the tribunal that she had originally spoken to Fraser in January 2024 after being placed on special leave, saying:
"I felt like he thought I was being disciplined because I had done something wrong."
Peggie described Fraser as
"non-committal"in their first conversation and said he did not seem to agree with her that Dr Upton should not be allowed in female changing areas. She acknowledged that she did not express these concerns directly to Fraser at the time.
What concerns did Peggie raise about union support?
When questioned by her lawyer Naomi Cunningham about why she felt compelled to contact her MP, Neale Hanvey, Peggie explained her reasoning. She stated:
"I didn't feel comfortable that Stuart had taken it as serious complaint. I thought he thought I'd been disciplined because I'd done something wrong."
Peggie also described feeling that Fraser was encouraging her to transfer to a different department against her preference. When asked how this made her feel, she responded:
"Not supported. I feel like people were taking the doctor's side rather than mine."
By February 2024, Peggie told the tribunal she had
"lost faith"in the RCN because Fraser had not mentioned legal support in their earlier conversation. She said she felt
"unsupported"and that she had been discriminated against.
According to court reporting on the case, Peggie is seeking a finding that the RCN discriminated against her because of her gender critical and sex realist beliefs. The tribunal heard that Peggie had been an RCN member for approximately 30 years before this dispute arose.
During cross-examination, the RCN's lawyer, David Hay KC, highlighted that the first written communication in which Peggie expressed feeling
"failed from the outset"by the union came in March 2025. Hay suggested that prior to this date, Peggie had other opportunities to formally notify her union representative of her dissatisfaction with the lack of legal services offered. Peggie countered that she believed such legal support
"should have been offered."
Peggie's case further claims that the union refused a request for legal support in January 2025 and that it did not provide adequate support when she asked NHS Fife to commit to ensuring changing facilities should be single-sex.
What role did campaign groups play?
The first tribunal against NHS Fife and Dr Upton became a high-profile and contentious case, with Peggie receiving backing from the campaign group Sex Matters, which was co-founded by Maya Forstater.
During questioning, Hay explored when Peggie came to understand the phrase "gender critical". Peggie indicated this occurred around the time she spoke with Forstater, shortly after contacting her MP in January 2024. She explained:
"I was made aware that because of what had happened in the changing area, I didn't believe biological men should be in women's changing spaces. Being a sex realist was more or less the same as being gender critical."
Hay drew attention to the fact that Sex Matters was funding Peggie's case and referenced correspondence from the group describing the issues as matters of
"significant strategic importance". The lawyer then posed the question:
"My reading is that the strategy is Sex Matters' strategy, as opposed to being a particular strategy from you?"Peggie acknowledged that her conversations with Forstater had helped her understand that she possessed a legal case
"because of my beliefs".
What is the broader context of this case?
Peggie's earlier tribunal against NHS Fife and Dr Upton resulted in a mixed outcome. She succeeded in her harassment claim but saw her discrimination and victimisation allegations rejected. The current case against the RCN represents a separate legal action, focusing specifically on whether the union failed in its duty to support and advise Peggie during the disciplinary process that followed her suspension.
According to reporting on the case, two additional nurses supported by the Christian Legal Centre were scheduled to give evidence during the RCN tribunal. Peggie also told the tribunal that there had been
"general chit chat"among NHS Fife staff about the use of the women's changing room at Victoria Hospital. When asked why no colleagues had given evidence to support her case, she said:
"I think possibly it was fear … They had seen the way I had been treated at the hospital by senior staff members."
What happens next?
The Dundee tribunal hearing was scheduled to continue through late September and into early October 2026, with sitting dates on 24–25 September, 28–30 September, and 1 October. The full appeal hearing concerning the earlier NHS Fife tribunal judgment is expected to take place in the first half of 2027.
