Tribunal nurse calls for action after Supreme Court gender ruling

A nurse who was suspended by a Scottish health board after she objected to a transgender doctor using a women’s changing room has called for action following the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman.

Sandie Peggie said she wanted NHS Fife to “immediately stop permitting any man who identifies as a woman” access to female-only single-sex spaces.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that a woman is defined by biological sex under equality law.

NHS Fife previously said it would “carefully consider” the court’s judgement.

Ms Peggie was suspended in January 2024 after transgender medic Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment against her.

This followed a complaint from the nurse about having to share a changing room with Dr Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

Ms Peggie took the health board and Dr Upton to a tribunal earlier this year.

She claimed that being made to get changed beside her transgender colleague amounted to unlawful harassment under the Equality Act.

At the time, NHS guidance said that trans men and women were allowed to use the changing rooms that aligned with their gender identity.

The tribunal has adjourned until July.

The Equality and Human Rights Commissioner has written to NHS Fife and the Scottish government to remind them about workplace legislation around single-sex spaces – which Ms Peggie has urged them to comply with.

In her first statement since the Supreme Court ruling, she welcomed the judgement and pledged to continue litigation against NHS Fife.

It said the nurse was “determined to continue with her legal claim in an effort to obtain accountability for the way she has been treated by Fife health board”.

Her lawyer added: “She now expects NHS Fife to immediately stop permitting any man who identifies as a woman access to female-only single-sex spaces in the workplace.”

NHS Fife has been asked for a comment.

The Supreme Court ruling marked the culmination of a long-running legal battle, after the Scottish government argued that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate are entitled to the same sex-based protections as biological women.

Public bodies have called for the Scottish government to update its guidance on single-sex spaces in light of the judgement.

The government said earlier this week that it was working towards a “state of readiness” for an update from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the body in charge of regulating the Equality Act.

The Scottish Parliament announced last week that transgender women would no longer be able to use the women’s toilets at Holyrood.

Facilities designated as male or female-only would now be interpreted as meaning biological sex, the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) said.

The parliament said it was installing new gender neutral toilets which will be open to anyone.