Sandie Peggie has said a union representative “was not taking it as seriously as I was” when she was placed on special leave after objecting to sharing a changing room with a transgender medic, an employment tribunal has heard.
The nurse also said other staff at NHS Fife did not come forward to support her earlier case against the health board possibly due to “fear”.
Ms Peggie is at the centre of a second employment tribunal, taking action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union in a dispute over her gender critical beliefs.
She has brought the case against her own union over what she claims was direct discrimination.
Ms Peggie previously brought a case against NHS Fife after sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital in December 2023.
The employment tribunal awarded Ms Peggie a partial victory against the health board in December last year, upholding claims of harassment against her employer, but dismissing allegations of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation.
The high-profile case became a flashpoint in a row over gender rights, with a number of gender-critical groups, along with author JK Rowling, voicing support for the nurse.
Ms Peggie, who claims the RCN failed to adequately support her in the dispute with the health board, was the first to give evidence at the new tribunal on Wednesday.
She said she had spoken to RCN representative Stuart Fraser after she was placed on special leave by NHS Fife.
Ms Peggie said Mr Fraser “wasn’t taking it as seriously as I was”.
She told the hearing: “I felt like he thought I was being disciplined because I had done something wrong.”
Under questioning from her barrister Naomi Cunningham, Ms Peggie claimed there was “general chit chat” among NHS Fife staff about being uncomfortable with Dr Upton being allowed to use female changing rooms.
When asked why no-one else gave evidence to support her case, she said: “I think possibly it was fear… They had seen the way I had been treated at the hospital by senior staff members.”
Ms Peggie’s team are expected to claim the RCN failed to advise her in January 2024 after her suspension from NHS Fife that she had a legal claim against her employer.
The nurse’s case also claims the union refused her request for legal support in January 2025 during NHS Fife’s handling of her disciplinary investigation.
Ms Peggie’s case further claims the RCN failed to adequately advocate for her when she sought guarantees from NHS Fife that changing facilities should be single-sex.
The nurse is seeking a finding that the union discriminated against her because of her gender critical and sex realist beliefs.
The RCN denies the claims.
The tribunal, taking place before employment judge Melanie Sangster in Dundee, continues.
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