Nurse at centre of NHS gender row to take legal action against trade union
Sandie Peggie is taking action against the Royal College of Nursing after her suspension by the health board
The NHS Fife nurse at the centre of a gender dispute has announced she is taking legal action against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Sandie Peggie was suspended from her job last year after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton.
After a bullying and harassment complaint by Dr Upton, Ms Peggie was later placed on special leave, but was cleared by an NHS Fife investigation earlier this week.
The suspension led to an employment tribunal this year, in which Ms Peggie launched a claim against Dr Upton and NHS Fife, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation.
"We deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie"
She is expected to take action after claiming the RCN failed to support her following her suspension, which the union denies.
In a statement, Ms Peggie’s lawyer Margaret Gribbon said: “"The RCN's failure to act like a trade union ought to has contributed to Sandie Peggie's mistreatment.
“They have repeatedly failed to exercise their industrial muscle to advocate for female members distressed because they are being deprived of genuine single-sex spaces to dress and undress at work.
"Had the RCN fulfilled the conventional role of a trade union, it is less likely that Sandie would have faced the ordeal of an 18-month disciplinary process and having to raise legal proceedings against Fife Health Board."
A spokesperson for the RCN said: “We have responded to the claim, and we deny all the allegations from Ms Peggie."