Peggie v RCN Explained: From NHS Fife Ruling to Union Support Claim
Sandie Peggie told an employment tribunal in Dundee she felt "discriminated against" by the Royal College of Nursing after she complained about sharing a women's changing room with a doctor. The Guardian
Peggie worked as a nurse for NHS Fife for more than 30 years. Her complaint centres on use of the women's changing room at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy by Dr Beth Upton. She said NHS Fife placed her on special leave, a paid pause from duties while a dispute is examined, and that she spoke to RCN representative Stuart Fraser in January 2024. She had previously claimed she faced harassment, meaning unwanted conduct linked to a protected characteristic, when she was expected to share the room with a trans woman. The Guardian
In December 2025, an employment tribunal, the court that decides workplace disputes, upheld her harassment claim against NHS Fife. The same ruling dismissed her claims of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation against the health board.
Peggie has now started a separate case against the RCN, saying it failed to support her properly in that original dispute. The College denies all the allegations. She told the tribunal she had "lost faith" in the RCN by February 2024 because Fraser had not mentioned legal support. Her case says the RCN refused a request for legal support in January 2025. She argues the RCN discriminated against her because of her "gender-critical and sex realist" beliefs, views centred on biological sex. She had previously claimed the RCN "contributed to her mistreatment." BBC The College denies that account.
The new hearing is in Dundee before Judge Melanie Sangster and is expected to last seven days. Peggie was the first witness to give evidence. The Independent
Peggie has also appealed the original ruling against NHS Fife and has permission to do so. Nursing Times Her legal team says that ruling used the wrong legal analysis. Sky News
The broader context here is that the Dundee hearing tests a different question from the first case. The December 2025 findings were only about NHS Fife as the employer. This claim asks whether the union's advice, triage and decisions on legal help were affected by her protected beliefs. For unions, the evidence will be narrow. What was said in January and February 2024, what was requested in January 2025, and how those decisions were recorded.
In my view, the parallel appeal adds pressure without settling the issue. If the appeal changes the legal analysis in the NHS Fife case, it could alter the factual story around the RCN claim. If it does not, the RCN tribunal must still decide the support and belief-discrimination questions on its own record. Either way, seven days of evidence in Dundee will create a detailed record of internal case handling that other membership groups will study.
