An employment tribunal has rejected nurse Sandie Peggie's claim that the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) discriminated against her based on her gender-critical beliefs. According to BBC News, the tribunal found the union had not shown "conscious or subconscious discrimination" during its handling of her case.
Peggie alleged the RCN had failed to provide adequate support during a dispute with NHS Fife and Dr Beth Upton, a transgender woman. The RCN contested the claim, maintaining it had acted "reasonably" throughout the process. This marks the second employment tribunal Peggie has brought over the original disagreement with Dr Upton.
The dispute began when Peggie objected to sharing a changing room at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy with Dr Upton, who has since left the NHS. Tensions escalated in December 2023, leading to Peggie's suspension in January 2024. She subsequently pursued legal action against both Dr Upton and the health board.
In a 37-page ruling issued on 2 November 2026, the tribunal dismissed all three direct-discrimination complaints against the RCN, finding the union's actions were not motivated by Peggie's protected beliefs. Employment judge Melanie Sangster noted that Peggie did not disclose her gender-critical views to RCN representative Stuart Fraser during their initial contact following her suspension.
What was the dispute about?
Peggie holds what are described as "gender critical" or "sex realist" beliefs—the conviction that people are born male or female and cannot change sex. Her objection to sharing facilities with Dr Upton, a biological male who identifies as a woman, triggered a series of disagreements that came to a head in late 2023.
The nurse was suspended in January 2024 and took both Dr Upton and NHS Fife to tribunal. In December 2025, she partially won a harassment claim against NHS Fife, though her other allegations of discrimination and victimisation, including those against Dr Upton, were dismissed. Peggie was subsequently cleared of misconduct by NHS Fife in July 2025 but has not returned to work due to stress.
Why did the RCN refuse legal funding?
The second tribunal centred on whether Peggie should have received legal assistance from the RCN after the union contacted her over her suspension. Judge Sangster found that Fraser's approach during the call was "in line with the approach he would take in other cases" and that Peggie had not formally requested legal assistance at that time.
In January 2025, Norman Provan, associate director of employment with the RCN, formally refused Peggie's request for legal assistance. Provan stated that Peggie had already sought independent legal advice and had submitted her claim prior to requesting RCN support. The union indicated that Fraser and the RCN would continue to represent her in internal disciplinary matters. Peggie subsequently received funding for legal representation from campaign group Sex Matters.
What about the union-wide communications?
Peggie also raised a complaint that an RCN official had not circulated a letter she had sent requesting assurances over protections for staff with gender-critical beliefs to all union members. The tribunal found that RCN official Gillian Tait had sought those assurances from NHS Fife but had only responded to Peggie individually, as she understood her role was to support her in her return to work.
Judge Sangster agreed that the email would have been circulated more widely if other RCN members had raised similar concerns, but the tribunal also rejected complaints about the RCN's response to requests for assurances on female-only changing facilities and protections for staff with gender-critical beliefs. None of the RCN's 55,000 Scottish members had raised comparable issues.
What happens next?
Peggie's legal battle is far from over. Her appeal against the separate December 2025 NHS Fife tribunal judgment was allowed to proceed on 13 of 14 grounds, concerning claims that were dismissed in the earlier case. The appeal against the NHS Fife tribunal judgment is expected to have a full Employment Appeal Tribunal hearing in 2027.
