Peggie vs Fife Health Board and Dr. B Upton

Changing rooms at centre of workplace discord

Jan 13, 2025

Ms Peggie, a nurse at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy (VH), has brought claims in the employment tribunal against her employer; Fife Health Board (the Board) and another employee, Dr B Upton. Ms Peggie’s claims are of sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation. Dr Upton claims to be a transwoman, that is observed as male at birth but asserting a female gender identity.

Peggie and Upton both worked in the A&E department at the Victoria Hospital. A changing room was provided to all female members of staff. Dr Upton was permitted by the Board to use the changing room and did so. Peggie declined on several occasions to use the changing room when alone with Dr Upton. Eventually, she was placed on special leave and suspended and subjected to disciplinary proceedings.

Current status

The case is scheduled for a full merits hearing (finding of fact) in the Edinburgh Employment Tribunal from 3 February 2025 to 14 February 2025. The in person hearing has been relocated to Dundee and is also available to remote observers via a videolink.

Relevant Documents

Witness statement of Maya Forstater, CEO of Sex Matters

Previous hearings

Privacy hearing

The Respondents (the Board and Dr Upton) applied under Rule 50(3)(a) to have the hearing held in private. The application was heard, largely in private, on 28 & 29 November 2024. The Respondents also applied to have the name of Dr Upton anonymised, as well as the names of two relevant departments in Kirkcaldy Hospital and the name of a prospective witness. None of these applications were granted. The hearing itself was held in private and we have no detailed reporting from it.

Four parties, Sex Matters, For Women Scotland, Times Newspapers and Tribunal Tweets made submissions in support of open justice for the hearing to be held in public.

Application to used live text based communications

Tribunal Tweets informed the Employment Tribunal as there were not privacy considerations that it was intending to use ‘live text based communications’ (live tweet). The respondents objected and we were asking to make submissions. Our submissions were successful, live tweeting is permitted provided that the reporting by Tribunal Tweets is fair and accurate and that we comply with any further directions of the Employment Tribunal. The EJ has given specific directions to witnesses called by the parties as follows:

Live Tweet Threads

Monday 3rd Feb 2025 - morning and afternoon part 1, afternoon part 2

Tuesday 4th Feb 2025 morning - Part one and Part two

Tuesday 4th Feb 2025 - afternoon session (note there is no part 2)

Wednesday 5th Feb 2025 morning session - Part One and Part Two

Wednesday 5th Feb afternoon session - Part One and Part Two

Thursday 6th Feb morning session - Part one and Part Two

Thursday 6th Feb afternoon session - Part one and Part Two

Friday 7th Feb morning session, afternoon session.

Monday 10th Feb morning session - Part One and part two

Monday 10th Feb afternoon session - Part one and part two

Tuesday 11th Feb morning session - Part One and part two (Remote access was lost due to technical issues later in the morning. While we cannot verify or endorse them, notes on the proceedings—taken by someone attending in person—are available here."

Tuesday 11th Feb afternoon session - Part One [there is no part 2 as the court adjourned early]

Wednesday 12th Feb morning session - Part one and part two

Wednesday 12th Feb afternoon session - Part one and Part two

Thursday 13th Feb morning session - Part One and part two

Thursday 13th Feb afternoon session - Part one and Part Two

Friday 14th Feb morning session - Part one and part two

Friday 14th Feb afternoon session - Part one (no part two - the hearing will continue 16th July 2025)

Abbreviations

C/SP - Claimant, Sandy Peggie

NC - Naomi Cunningham, C’s barrister

MG - Margaret Gribbons, C’s solicitor

R/Board - first respondent, Fife Health Board

R2/DU - second respondent, Dr B Upton

JR - Jane Russell, KC, barrister for respondents

AW - Adam Watson, solicitor for respondents

J - Employment Judge Alexander Kemp

ET - Employment Tribunal

P1, P2 - additional panel members

CR - changing room

AE - Accident & emergency department

PCP - provision, criteria or practice is a rule, policy, or practice that can put people at a disadvantage based on certain characteristics. The term is used in employment law to assess whether an employer's actions create different outcomes for employees based on their characteristics.

B&H - bullying and harassment

SocMed - social media

SM - Sex Matters

HR - Human Rights

TW - Transwoman

HI - hate incident

KS - Kate Searle, A&E consultant

ED - Esther Davidson, SP’s line manager

SF - Stuart Fraser, SP’s RCN Rep
AG - Angela Glancy, headed up in SP investigation

Witnesses for Claimant

MF - Maya Forstater, CEO of Sex Matters

DP - Darren Peggie, Claimant's husband

NP - Nicole Peggie, Claimant's daughter

SB - Sheila Bell, Claimant's mother

Press Coverage

This post includes links to a selection of recent and relevant press coverage about the recent case. These links are included without comment and are not endorsed by Tribunal Tweets. This is a sample of coverage only - it is not comprehensive. Please DM our main Twitter account to submit coverage from an established news outlet. Any paywalled article must be archived.

17th February 2025 onwards

Due to the volume of press relating to this case, a new page documenting coverage from this date can be found here

[VIDEO] BBC Reporting Scotland - Day 8 updates on the case

[VIDEO] STV - News at 6 - Day 8 updates on the case

The Times - Nicola Sturgeon has left Scotland a land where words mean nothing

The Times - Trans doctor Beth Upton ‘tried to ruin career’ of changing room row nurse

STV - Transgender doctor raised concerns over nurse eight months after incident

BBC - Transgender doctor denies wanting to 'punish' nurse

Scottish Daily Express - Trans Dr Beth Upton's 'biologically denying' evidence leads to flurry of complaints to medical watchdog [The article quotes a letter sent from WRN Scotland to NHS Fife]

Scottish Daily Express - Trans Dr Upton 'considered' reporting Sandie Peggie to police for misgendering him as he calls out tribunal 'harassment'

Dorset Echo/PA media - Transgender doctor raised concerns over nurse eight months after incident

National - Doctor denies 'concocting lie' about nurse abandoning patient

Scotsman - Transgender doctor Beth Upton 'raised concerns' over nurse Sandie Peggie eight months after incident

Herald - We shouldn't pay public sector staff to be full-time trans activists

Scottish Daily Express - Transgender doctor crowdfunder raises more than £1300 'so she can treat herself to something nice'

11th Feb 2025

Scotsman - Transgender doctor Beth Upton put 'big girl pants on' over female changing room complaint from nurse

Telegraph - I don’t have to tell patients I’m trans, insists doctor in NHS row

Daily Mail - Trans doctor says she 'put her big girl pants on' when she kept using women's changing rooms after female colleague objected, tribunal hears

Gript - Biologically male doctor tells Scottish trans Tribunal: “I’m not a man”

Telegraph - Trans women are ‘biologically female’? That’s not what I was taught at medical school

[VIDEO] BBC - The world tonight: Updates on Nurse Peggie's case

BBC - Trans doctor used female changing rooms after row

Scottish Daily Express - Transgender doctor accused of 'making up' an incident in hospital's female changing room

The Times - Trans doctor accused of ‘immersive role play’ in NHS changing room

Scottish Daily Express - Trans Dr Upton WOULD treat patient who requested female doctor as 'incompetent' NHS Fife spark tribunal delay

[VIDEO] Talk TV - Employment Tribunal: Doctor: "I'm biological and identity as female so I'm biologically female"

[VIDEO] Talk TV - Tribunal hearing: trans doctor: "biological sex nebulous & meaningless term"

Kent Online - Transgender doctor ‘continued to use female changing rooms after row’ – tribunal

Sky news - Transgender doctor at centre of hospital changing room row tells tribunal presence was not an 'invasion of privacy'

Spectator - Why aren’t Scotland’s politicians standing up for Sandie Peggie?

[VIDEO] LBC - Susan Smith from For Women Scotland discusses the case

Unherd - Has there been a cover-up in NHS Scotland trans case?

Herald - NHS trans tribunal is about much more than a nurse's fight for her job

Spectator - Why has the BBC changed its trans tribunal headline?

10 Feb 2025

Daily Mail - Trans doctor tells tribunal: I used female changing room because I think I'm a woman

Independent - Transgender doctor told NHS of ‘intent’ to use women’s changing rooms – tribunal

The Times - I’m not male, says trans doctor Beth Upton in NHS changing room row

Scottish Daily Express - Dr Beth Upton is a 'man who does not care about women's boundaries', tribunal hears

Gript - "Im biologically female" claimes biologically male dr. At UK tribunal

[VIDEO] BBC Reporting Scotland - Day 6 of S Peggie

Scottish Daily Express - Nurse Sandie Peggie's lawyer compares transgender doctor to George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984

Courier - Lawyer for nurse suing NHS Fife compares trans doctor to torturer in George Orwell’s 1984

Telegraph - ‘I’m biologically female’, insists trans NHS doctor

Inverness Courier - Transgender doctor told NHS of ‘intent’ to use women’s changing rooms – tribunal

Irish News - Transgender doctor told NHS of ‘intent’ to use women’s changing rooms – tribunal

BBC Scotland - Trans doctor left 'upset and afraid' by nurse

BBC - 'I'm only asking for basic respect' - trans doctor [This headline was changed from ‘Transgender doctor in NHS changing room tells tribunal “I am not male”]

Daily Record - Transgender doctor told NHS Fife of ‘intent’ to use women’s changing rooms

Telegraph - Starmer needs to man up on women’s rights

Dumfermline Press - Sandie Peggie Tribunal: NHS Fife 'didn't disclose documents'

The Critic - The truth about work, single-sex spaces and the law