A nurse in Scotland who objected to sharing a female hospital changing room with a transgender doctor has lost her employment tribunal case against her trade union, reports The Telegraph.
Sandie Peggie was suspended by NHS Fife after complaining about sharing the women’s changing room with Dr Beth Upton, a biological male who identified as a woman, on Christmas Eve 2023.
She took legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), accusing the union of failing to support her in her dispute with the health board.
Peggie alleged the RCN had discriminated against her because of her gender-critical beliefs, saying the union thought she had “done something wrong” by objecting to Upton.
But the tribunal has dismissed her claim of “direct discrimination”, concluding that her RCN representatives’ actions had not been influenced by her beliefs.
Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that the RCN officials “would have acted in the same way if the same request had been made by someone not holding the same protected belief” as Peggie.
The tribunal also considered the RCN’s wider position on gender identity, noting that the union had published guidance advising members to treat children according to their self-identified gender, even if they claimed to be eunuchs.
However, it found no evidence that Norman Provan, the RCN’s associate director of employment relations, had seen the guidance before deciding to withhold legal support from Peggie.
An earlier tribunal ruling last December found that Peggie had been harassed by the health board but had dismissed her allegations of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation.
It also found that it was lawful for Upton to use the female changing room at Victoria Hospital, before Peggie complained, and after they were put on separate shifts.
Peggie has appealed against this judgment, arguing that it is incompatible with the UK Supreme Court ruling that the definition of a woman for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex.
The latest case focused on three complaints about the support she received from the union during the dispute, with Peggie arguing that Stuart Fraser, the RCN representative who handled her initial case, should have given her legal advice after she was suspended in January 2024.
She also claimed that the RCN should have helped her obtain legal representation for a further claim against NHS Fife.
But the tribunal, held in September, heard that Fraser had followed the usual approach of explaining the suspension process and waiting for further information before considering more detailed advice or legal support.
“The tribunal concluded that Fraser’s actions were not, consciously or subconsciously, influenced by the claimant’s protected belief,” the ruling stated.
A second part of the case focused on Provan’s refusal to release legal funds for a further employment tribunal claim against NHS Fife. He argued this was because Peggie had already obtained independent legal representation and that the new complaint was closely connected to her existing proceedings.
RCN ‘followed standard practice’
The tribunal accepted this explanation, noting that Provan’s approach was “consistent with the union’s established practice”.
Peggie’s third and final complaint alleged that Gillian Tait, an RCN representative, had failed to seek stronger assurances from the health board about single-sex facilities and the treatment of staff with gender-critical beliefs.
However, the judge found that Tait had been supporting Peggie as an individual member, rather than addressing wider workplace policy issues.
She also ruled that Tait’s actions had not been influenced by the nurse’s beliefs. The tribunal concluded: “For these reasons, the claimant’s complaints of direct discrimination do not succeed and are dismissed.”
But Bethany Hutchison, president of the Darlington Nursing Union, said: “Sandie’s story shows why healthcare professionals need a union that understands their convictions before a crisis begins.
“The court’s decision does not erase the fears and lawful beliefs of nurses who believe their union may not represent them robustly when disputes involve biological sex and gender identity.”
Ruling ‘questions value of union membership’
A spokesman for Peggie said: “This judgment makes worrying reading for all trade union members. It raises serious questions about the value of … membership if, when members report workplace concerns, the responsibility falls on them, rather than on experienced and trained union officers supported by internal and external legal teams, to identify the correct statutory basis for potential legal claims.
“The judgment also suggests that, where a woman seeks advice from her trade union because she objects to undressing in front of a male colleague at work, the union is entitled to characterise her concerns merely as a disagreement about access to a changing room, rather than recognising them as an expression of her protected belief that a man who identifies as a woman remains a man.”
The spokesman said Peggie’s legal team would “carefully consider the judgment before making recommendations to her on any further legal steps available to her”.
The Telegraph article – Sandie Peggie loses employment tribunal against nurses’ union (Open access)
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