
NHS Fife trans changing room row employment tribunal set to resume
An employment tribunal brought by a nurse against a health board over a transgender doctor using a female changing room at a Scots hospital is set to resume on Wednesday, July 16.
Sandie Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with Dr Beth Upton at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, where they both worked.
She took NHS Fife and Dr Upton to tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010 regarding three incidents when they shared a changing room: indirect harassment, victimisation and whistleblowing.
Employment tribunal hearings took place in Dundee in February and it was then adjourned until July.
Ms Peggie was suspended from work on January 3, 2024 after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, the tribunal heard earlier this year.
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The tribunal resumes after the UK Supreme Court ruled in April 2025 that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex', a ruling which has been publicly welcomed by Ms Peggie.
The resumed hearing in Dundee is expected to last 11 days. Last week it emerged NHS Fife has spent more than £220,000 defending itself in the employment tribunal.
Up to the end of March, a total of £220,465.93 was spent on the case, including counsel fees and services from the NHS Scotland central legal office.
The extent of the costs was uncovered following an intervention by Scotland's information commissioner.
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