“This judgment makes worrying reading for all trade union members” – Sandie Peggie spokesperson.
Sandie Peggie has lost her employment tribunal against her union, the Royal College of Nursing. The judgment, handed down today, dismisses Peggie’s claims that she was discriminated against on the grounds of her gender critical beliefs.
Peggie had three complaints. Firstly, that her union rep should have recognised that she was manifesting her protected beliefs (and should have acted appropriately) when she described being suspended for voicing her objections to a male doctor changing in the female changing rooms where she worked. Secondly, that the RCN failed to give her the legal support they could and should have done when she decided to pursue a secondary discrimination claim against her employer, NHS Fife. Thirdly, that a senior union rep ignored an important and reasonable request to publicise Peggie’s case to other RCN members. More here.
No Dice
Employment judge Melanie Sangster was persuaded by the Royal College of Nursing’s evidence on each of the above claims and, in a relatively short judgment, decided none of the decisions made by RCN employees were “consciously or subconsciously” discriminatory towards Sandie Peggie. Accordingly, she ruled “the claimant’s complaints of direct discrimination do not succeed and are dismissed”
The Royal College of Nursing called the judgment “comprehensive” and said “we welcome the decision that we did not discriminate against our member based on her protected beliefs. RCN staff followed agreed processes that apply to all members and we acted fairly and impartially. We are sorry these matters were aired before the Tribunal. The RCN is an anti-discrimination organisation, supporting all of its members.”
A spokesperson for Sandie Peggie said: “This judgment makes worrying reading for all trade union members. It raises serious questions about the value of trade union membership if, when members report workplace concerns, the responsibility falls on them… to identify the correct statutory basis for potential legal claims. The judgment also suggests that, where a woman seeks advice from her trade union because she objects to undressing in front of a male colleague at work, the union is entitled to characterise her concerns merely as a disagreement about access to a changing room, rather than recognising them as an expression of her protected belief that a man who identifies as a woman remains a man.”
Point Declined
A considerable amount of time during the tribunal was taken up discussing whether the RCN had institutionally adopted gender identity ideology, and whether this had any bearing on its ethos, provisions and decision-making processes. Judge Sangster declined to make a finding in this regard, ruling: “The Tribunal concluded that it was not necessary, in order to determine the issues before it, to make a finding on whether the respondent [RCN], as an organisation, held the asserted institutional belief.”
Sandie Peggie’s spokesperson calls this “disappointing” given “it had been decided at a preliminary hearing on 22 September 2026 that this was a matter in dispute between the parties which needed to be determined.”
Peggie can appeal the judgment, but has not yet said whether she will do so. Her spokesperson says her legal team “will carefully consider the judgment before making recommendations to Sandie on any further legal steps available to her”.
To read more about the tribunal, the evidence given and some of the key documents discussed in the case, see below.
Peggie v RCN preview interview
Peggie v RCN Day 1: Getting Taken Seriously
Peggie v RCN Day 2: Trans-Organisational Madness
Peggie v RCN Day 3: unProvan
Peggie v RCN Day 4 Pt 1: Nurses Assemble
Peggie v RCN Day 4 Pt 2: Stuart Fraser
Peggie v RCN Day 5: Gillian Tate
Peggie v RCN Day 6: Patricia Marquis
Day 1 Live Tweets Collated
Day 2 Live Tweets Collated
Day 3 Live Tweets Collated
Day 4 Live Tweets Collated
Day 5 Live Tweets Collated
Day 6 Live Tweets Collated
Final Day Live Tweets Collated
Fair Care For Trans Patients 2nd Edition – RCN
Let’s talk… inclusion: Being the Change – RCN
Bruce Carr KC’s 2022 report into RCN’s dysfunction
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