A nurse's discrimination claim against her union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), has been dismissed by a judge. Sandie Peggie had accused the RCN of discriminating against her due to her gender critical beliefs after she complained about sharing a female-only changing room with a trans doctor.
The employment tribunal ruled that the RCN did not discriminate against Peggie, finding that the union official who initially handled her complaint did not understand her gender critical beliefs to be anything more than a disagreement about changing facility usage. Peggie, 53, was suspended from her job at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy after raising concerns about a trans doctor, Beth Upton, using the women's changing room.
Following the incident on Christmas Eve 2023, Peggie sought assistance from the RCN. She alleged that the union failed to advise her of a potential legal claim against NHS Fife and the doctor, and did not refer the matter for legal support. The tribunal's 37-page ruling stated that the RCN officer did not understand Peggie to be asserting a protected sex realist or gender critical belief. The information available to the officer, including a brief note and Peggie's verbal account, did not convey that she held a philosophical belief, but rather a viewpoint based on a recent news story.
Peggie's legal team indicated they would carefully consider the judgment before advising on any further legal steps. A spokesman for Peggie expressed concern about the implications for trade union members, questioning the responsibility placed on members to identify legal claims rather than on trained union officers. The spokesman also noted disappointment that the tribunal did not rule on the RCN's alleged adoption of gender ideology as an institutional position.
An RCN spokesman welcomed the decision, stating that the union did not discriminate against its member based on her protected beliefs and that RCN staff followed agreed processes impartially. The RCN affirmed its commitment to being an anti-discrimination organization supporting all its members.