Evidence Wraps Up In UK Tribunal Over Nurse Objecting To Trans Doc Using Changing Room

Featured image: Sandie Peggie (right) arrives for the tribunal in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

On Tuesday, an employment tribunal heard final testimony from Nurse Sandie Peggie, in a sorry saga that has been gripping the UK – one that could impact workplace policy around gender identity and discrimination.

The dispute revolves around three incidents, including two in which ER Nurse Sandie Peggie reportedly avoided being in a female-only changing room with trans colleague, Dr. Beth Upton. The initial confrontation took place on Christmas Eve 2023 at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife. The two exchanged words, and Peggie told the court that Dr. Upton undressed while they were speaking (which Upton denied). 

The court also heard that on Christmas day, Dr. Upton sent an email stating, “I don’t feel safe using the changing room when she’s there.”  According to nurse.com, another doctor recalled that Dr. Upton was “extremely distressed” over the situation.

Peggie was placed on leave and then suspended in January 2024, following Dr. Upton’s formal allegations of having been bullied, harassed, and misgendered. In response to the disciplinary actions, Peggie lodged a claim against Victoria Hospital last May, citing the Equality Act 2010, claiming sexual harassment, belief discrimination, indirect harassment, victimization, and whistleblowing violations.

The employment tribunal ramped up earlier this month – six months after a request by NHS Fife and Dr. Upton to have the tribunal heard privately, and to keep the doctor’s name anonymous. That bid was rejected on the grounds that there was significant public interest, and given Dr. Upton’s transgender status being already known to her family, employer, and colleagues.

Witnesses testified this week, including Fiona Wishart, an ER nurse practitioner who told the tribunal on Monday that Peggie had made “derogatory remarks” about Dr. Upton at a lunch on Sept 4, 2023. While Wishart was short on all details, she mentioned that she had prior heard Peggie refer to Upton as “weirdo”, “freak” and “it”. 

Peggie, who has worked at NHS for 30 years, had admitted in February, that under workplace policy, she was the only one guilty of harassment; but argued that her suspension was unfair and amounted to victimization. On July 16th, 18 months into the investigation, she was cleared of four accusations of gross misconduct, and two claims of endangering patient safety and one of of misgendering the doctor.

Dr. Beth Upton arriving at tribunal in Dundee, February 7, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)

According to BBC, Peggie contends that it was “not wholly unfair” to have called Dr. Upton a “weirdo”, and that any “man” who walked into a women’s changing room would “be considered a voyeur”. In earlier evidence, Peggie also said she had felt “embarrassed and intimidated.”

Hospital attorneys have argued that Peggie was the only person uncomfortable with Dr. Upton’s use of the changing room; while Peggie’s counsel claims that other women also objected, but feared retribution within the NHS Fife system and were afraid to come forward.

In a controversial move, Judge Sandy Kemp ruled that Peggie and her legal team could use male pronouns when referring to Dr. Upton during tribunal proceedings, even while acknowledging that such language could be “painful and distressing” for Dr. Upton. 

A representative for Peggie told Dr. Upton during the hearing: “It’s obvious why someone would be unhappy to see you in the changing room. You’re male and women would feel uncomfortable with you in the changing room.”

The doctor responded, “I am not male. My presence is not an invasion of the privacy of their space, but I can’t speak for how they feel.”

Oral submissions to bring the tribunal to close will be heard on September 1 and 2.