One of the most closely watched workplace disputes in Scotland has another ruling, and this one went against the claimant.
An employment tribunal in Dundee has dismissed all three direct discrimination complaints that nurse Sandie Peggie brought against her union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Nursing Times reports. The judgment was made public on November 2.
“The judgment of the tribunal is that the claimant’s complaints of direct discrimination do not succeed and are dismissed,” it reads.
The background, briefly
In December 2023, Peggie, a nurse at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, complained about sharing a changing room with Dr Beth Upton, a trans doctor. After Upton raised bullying claims against her, Peggie was suspended from January to April 2024, PinkNews reports.
She then sued NHS Fife and Upton. In December 2025, that tribunal found NHS Fife had harassed her, but dismissed her other claims, including every claim against Upton. Peggie is appealing that decision, Nursing Times reports. Upton left the NHS in February 2026.
This new case was a separate one: Peggie against her own union.
What she claimed
Peggie argued the RCN treated her worse because of her gender-critical belief (that biological sex is immutable). She made three complaints:
- The union failed to tell her she might have a discrimination claim against NHS Fife after she was suspended.
- It refused to fund lawyers for a second claim against the health board.
- It didn’t do enough to secure assurances from NHS Fife about single-sex facilities, or to back her in asserting them.
What the tribunal decided
Employment Judge Melanie Sangster accepted that Peggie’s belief is protected under the Equality Act 2010. That part isn’t new: UK courts have treated gender-critical beliefs as protected for several years.
But a protected belief isn’t the same as proof of discrimination. The tribunal found no evidence that the belief shaped what the union did. The RCN’s actions were not “consciously or subconsciously, influenced by the claimant’s protected belief,” the 37-page ruling says, per PinkNews.
Complaint by complaint:
- Advice after suspension: RCN representative Stuart Fraser followed the usual process, explaining how suspensions work and waiting for more information before advising further. The tribunal found he didn’t know about her belief and would have treated anyone recently suspended the same way.
- Legal funding: The union said Peggie already had independent lawyers, and the second claim was closely tied to her existing case.
- The email to NHS Fife: An RCN official’s email was found to be support for Peggie as an individual member, not a move on wider workplace policy.
The tribunal declined to decide Peggie’s further claim that the RCN had adopted “gender ideology” as an institutional belief.
What both sides said
The RCN welcomed the ruling. “The judgment is comprehensive and we welcome the decision that we did not discriminate,” a spokesperson said, adding that the union “acted fairly and impartially,” Nursing Times reports.
Peggie’s spokesperson said: “This judgment makes worrying reading for all trade union members.” Her legal team will review it before advising on next steps. No appeal of this ruling has been announced.
Why it matters
Cases like this one get loud fast, and they’re often reported as if each ruling settles the wider debate about trans people at work. This one doesn’t. It answers a narrow question: did a union discriminate against a member over her beliefs? On the evidence, the tribunal said no.
For trans healthcare workers, and the colleagues who work alongside them, that’s worth knowing. Behind the headlines, what decided this case was ordinary process: who knew what, and whether the union followed its usual rules.
We’ll keep following the NHS Fife appeal.
