What we learned from Sandie Peggie employment tribunal

The Herald Scotland

16-07-2025

In her capacity, she advised that Dr Beth Upton had a 'right' to use the female changing rooms because the medic 'identifies as a woman'.
Here is what we learned from day 11 of the tribunal.
Sandie Peggie cleared
The most significant revelation came hours before the tribunal had even began.
Maragret Gribbon, the solicitor for Ms Peggie, revealed her client had been cleared all four allegations of gross misconduct against her.
She was suspended in January 2024 following a row with Dr Upton over the trans medic's use of female only changing rooms.
Further allegations emerged, including that the nurse 'walked out of a resuscitation unit when Dr Upton entered, leaving a patient unseen'.
Another allegation, alleged to have occurred on December 18, 2023, claimed a patient was triaged and left the hospital without being seen.
In a statement, NHS Fife concluded there had been 'insufficient evidence' to support any misconduct claims.
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The ramifications for this are significant and it is unlikely that this will be the end of this.
First Minister John Swinney is also facing criticism after he said he had 'confidence' in the board of NHS Fife despite the misconduct allegations being cleared.
NHS Fife's 'secret' trans policy
NHS Fife did not have a trans inclusion policy at the time of the incident in 2023.
We were told by Ms Bumba that the health board "soft launched" a policy for feedback in October 2024.
We learned that the health board launched its policy in February.
Prior to that, Ms Bumba told the tribunal that she relied on the guidance used by other health boards, particularly in Lanarkshire, Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Highland.
Ms Bumba also said she would have been "Googling" to find out other policies from around the country.
These policies generally said that trans individuals should be treated in accordance with their "self-declared gender".
Workplace regulations were not consulted
In a crucial piece of evidence, Ms Bumba said she did give consideration to the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
However, she admitted that in hindsight she probably would consider it because of the evolving nature of the issue.
She is, of course, referring to the Supreme Court judgment, which ruled that the definition of a woman is linked to biological sex.
Why is this important? The Workplace Regulations state that there must be separate facilities for men and women where necessary.
Excluding Dr Upton could be 'discriminatory'
Dr Bumba told the tribunal she issued the guidance because restricting Dr Upton's access to female changing facilities could "be deemed discriminatory".
She said: Ms Bumba said: "I said it could be deemed discriminatory to not allow a trans person access to facilities that aligned with their gender. But I recommended that it might be worthwhile having a conversation with the person directly, if they'd been open about their trans status, to see where they would feel most comfortable."
Ms Bumba said she was given very limited information relating to the incident between Ms Peggie and Dr Upton.
While she was told it related to a "protected characteristic", Ms Bumba maintains she did not know who the people concerned were.
Based on this information, she advised that it could be "discriminatory" towards Dr Upton as it concerned comments about the doctor's trans status.
"It sounded like it was comments that were being made specifically about this person's trans status.
'It sounded quite unpleasant based on what was written," she said.
But crucially, Ms Bumba also said she advised that Ms Peggie's gender critical views must be respected.
The idea of Dr Upton being discriminated against became a key issue of contention when Ms Bumba was quizzed by Naomi Cunningham, a barrister representing Ms Upton.
The barrister asked whether women like Ms Peggie would have been disadvantaged by the decisions taken.
Ms Bumba said there was "no reason" for her to think that women might be concerned about being exposed to sexual harassment.
Harm caused by trans people vs men
Another significant issue of contention related to Ms Cunningham's question which asked whether a trans person using a single-sex space would "put women at significant risk".
Ms Bumba argued that the prospect of harm from a trans woman was "significantly less" that the danger posed by men.
She also said it could have been potentially isolating for Dr Upton to have been instructed to use a "private space" to change away from women.
This was a solution offered to Ms Peggie - but importantly not by Ms Bumba.
Bumba denies being biased towards trans community
The tribunal heard that Ms Bumba signs off her work emails with the statement 'LGBT ally'.
Lawyers acting on behalf of Ms Peggie questioned whether this meant the equality lead was "positioned on one side of the debate" and whether she believed gender reassignment and sexual orientation were the most important protected characteristics.
Ms Bumba said her signature did not suggest these were her main priorities.
"I'm an ally to trans people yes, but that doesn't mean I am not an ally to women," she said.