A solicitor representing a nurse who objected to sharing a female changing-room with a transgender doctor has said aspects of the judgment in an employment tribunal are “hugely problematic for women”.
Sandie Peggie was suspended by NHS Fife after complaining about having to share a changing-room with Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy on Christmas Eve 2023.
She was placed on special leave after Dr Upton, a transgender medic, made an allegation of bullying and harassment, and cited concerns about patient care.
Ms Peggie had lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation.
The employment tribunal hearings took place in Dundee before Judge Sandy Kemp earlier this year.
On Monday, in a written judgment, the harassment claim was upheld but allegations of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation were dismissed.
Giving a statement in Edinburgh on Monday evening, Ms Peggie’s solicitor Margaret Gribbon said: “The tribunal’s findings that Fife Health Board harassed Sandie Peggie is a huge win for a tenacious and courageous woman standing up for her sex-based rights.”
She described the case as “extraordinarily lengthy and complex”, and said it will take time to digest the tribunal’s 318-page judgment.
“Due to the length of the judgment, and the fact that the legal team only received it this morning at 10am, we will not be in a position to make substantive comments on it today,” she said.
“Although safe to say that our preliminary thoughts are that aspects of the judgment are hugely problematic for women, leaving the onus on them to object when their privacy, dignity and safety are violated when men are given access to single-sex spaces.”
She added that the team would comment further on the judgment later this week.
Ms Gribbon was standing alongside a smiling Ms Peggie as she delivered the statement outside the Edinburgh Tribunals Service building and the pair hugged after she finished speaking.
The tribunal found that NHS Fife had harassed Ms Peggie by failing to revoke the grant of permission to Dr Upton on an interim basis after Ms Peggie complained, for the period until different work rotas took effect so that they would not work together and said that, as a result, Dr Upton was in the changing room when the claimant was present on two occasions.
It also found the board had harassed Ms Peggie by taking an unreasonable length of time to investigate the allegation and by making reference to patient care allegations against her on March 28 2024; and giving an instruction to her not to discuss the case, until a further message a little over two weeks later which confirmed that that applied only to the investigation.
The judgment dismissed the claim made against Dr Upton, who was named as a respondent in the case.
Ms Peggie said: “I am beyond relieved and delighted that the tribunal has found that my employer, Fife Health Board, harassed me after I complained about having to share a female-only changing room with a male colleague.
“The last two years have been agonising for me and my family. I will have much more to say in the coming days once I’ve been able to properly consider the lengthy judgment and discuss it with my legal team.
“For now, I am looking forward to spending a quiet few days with my family.
“I’m so grateful to my incredible legal team: Naomi Cunningham, lead counsel; Dr Charlotte Elves, junior counsel; and my solicitor, Margaret Gribbon. There are many others I would like to thank and will do so in the coming days.”
A spokesperson for NHS Fife said: “NHS Fife recognises that this has been a complex and lengthy process, and acknowledges the careful consideration of Judge Kemp and the tribunal panel.
“The employment tribunal unanimously dismissed all of the claimant’s allegations against Dr Upton and all of the allegations against the board, apart from four specific aspects of the harassment complaint.
“We will now take time to work through the detail of the judgment alongside our legal team to understand fully what it means for the organisation.
“We want to recognise how difficult this tribunal has been for everyone directly and indirectly involved.
“Our focus now is to ensure that NHS Fife remains a supportive and inclusive environment for all employees and our patients, and to deliver health and care to the population of Fife.”
The tribunal judgment said it disagreed with the findings of an internal investigation and that Ms Peggie had likely “harassed” Dr Upton during the changing-room incident.
It said Ms Peggie’s actions in the changing-room indicated “she did not feel a sense of threat from the presence of a male”, but that her concerns “had been brushed off rather than adequately considered” by her employers.
The judgment said there was no evidence of a “conspiracy” against Ms Peggie or that Dr Upton had deleted phone notes as alleged.
It also found there was no “group disadvantage” to female staff as it calculated that about 6% of female workers shared Ms Peggie’s views.
However, it said that the internal investigation “should have been conducted far more quickly”.
Maya Forstater, chief executive of sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, which supported Ms Peggie, said: “We are pleased that Sandie Peggie has won her claim of harassment against NHS Fife and that the hospital trust was criticised for its terrible handling of the complaint against her.
“Overall, we are disappointed in the tribunal’s approach, which sought to reach a spurious balance between a woman’s right to undress with privacy and dignity, and the right of an employee with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment not to be discriminated against.”
Scottish Conservative equalities spokeswoman Tess White said: “NHS Fife shamefully tried to silence a nurse who stood up for women’s rights, then squandered a fortune of taxpayers’ money defending their harassment of her.
“The health board have serious questions to answer – and so does John Swinney and Neil Gray, who backed the discredited management team at every turn.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While these are matters for the health board, the Scottish Government respects the outcome of the employment tribunal and will take the time to consider the judgment in full.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch posted on social media: “I’m delighted Sandie Peggie has finally won her case against NHS Fife.
“It’s ridiculous it took two years to reach a verdict that was so obvious from the start.”
