Nhs Nurse’s Tribunal Over Trans Doctor’s Use Of Changing Room Hears Final Evidence

An employment tribunal brought by an NHS Fife caregiver who objected to sharing a changing room pinch a transgender expert has concluded its grounds pinch conflicting interpretations of really nan ultimate court’s landmark ruling connected activity impacts connected nan case.

Sandie Peggie, who has worked arsenic a caregiver for much than 30 years, contends she was taxable to unlawful harassment nether nan Equality Act erstwhile she was expected to stock a changing room pinch Dr Beth Upton.

After closing submissions were heard connected Monday and Tuesday successful Dundee, nan judge Sandy Kemp had been expected to statesman his deliberations. Instead, nan tribunal was thrown into chaos aft a last-minute exertion from NHS Fife’s lawyers to amend their pleadings.

The tribunal began successful February and reconvened successful July to perceive further evidence. It has been followed intimately crossed nan UK to spot really April’s ultimate tribunal ruling that “woman” and “sex” successful nan Equality Act mention only to a biologic female and to biologic activity should beryllium applied successful practice. It is apt to beryllium utilized arsenic a template for different ineligible actions.

The exertion by NHS Fife could hold nan result for months while Kemp considers it, on pinch immoderate resulting appeals. Peggie’s lawyer said nan caregiver was “in tears” astatine nan imaginable of further hearings.

The lawsuit centres astir a disputed incident which took spot successful a changing room astatine Victoria infirmary successful Kirkcaldy connected Christmas Eve 2023, aft which Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment, starring to Peggie’s suspension.

In July, NHS Fife confirmed Peggie had been cleared of nan abstracted gross misconduct allegations aft an 18-month soul process.

Summing up her lawsuit connected Monday, Peggie’s lawyer Naomi Cunningham many times referenced nan ultimate tribunal lawsuit brought by nan gender captious run group For Women Scotland. She told nan tribunal: “Trans women are men. That reality is enshrined successful law.”

But Jane Russell KC, representing Fife NHS committee and Upton, based on that nan ruling “says that work providers – it doesn’t screen employers – can, but do not person to, exclude [trans women from single-sex facilities] by making usage of nan exceptions successful schedule 3 of nan Equality Act.”

She added: “There is nary authority that says an employer must do this.”

Cunningham, who chairs nan committee of trustees for nan gender-critical group Sex Matters, told nan tribunal that excluding Upton was “the inevitable consequence” of nan For Women Scotland judgment.

“Trans-identifying men who person gender nickname certificates (GRCs) are for definite purposes deemed to beryllium women. But without a GRC they are some legally and factually simply men,” she said.

Upton has nary GRC and truthful “must beryllium excluded” from women only spaces, Cunningham added.

She described NHS Fife arsenic being “in nan grip of a delusion”, and that nan committee had “taken connected gender personality belief arsenic its organization position”. It had past subjected nan caregiver to a “heresy hunt” erstwhile she challenged this.

Russell said Peggie had faced disciplinary action not because of her gender-critical beliefs, but because of nan “objectionable and inappropriate” measurement she expressed them. During nan Christmas Eve altercation, Russell said Peggie had “repeatedly” misgendered Upton and that her reference to convicted rapist Isla Bryson was “an outrageously harmful hurtful and damaging slur”.

“The claimants behaviour successful confronting nan young expert successful a master mounting successful specified a measurement and truthful unpleasantly is behaviour that ought not to beryllium served protection of nan Equality Act,” Russell argued.

As a people of nan value of nan case, which has already costs NHS Fife astir £220,500, a number of nationalist groups were granted support to intervene successful nan case, including Sex Matters and nan trans-led defense organisation TransLucent.

Aspects of nan lawsuit person played retired successful parallel connected societal media. Cunningham accused nan committee of seeking to “drive a wedge betwixt [Peggie] and her lesbian daughter” aft witnesses claimed she was uncomfortable pinch her daughter’s sexuality. Peggie’s daughter, Nicole, past went connected societal media to situation this, stating that her mother had ever been supportive.

And connected Monday Kemp ruled aft immoderate ineligible statement that Upton’s commencement sanction should beryllium redacted from published submissions, only for that sanction to extremity up trending connected X later successful nan day.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written to NHS Fife regarding entree to single-sex accommodation for unit connected respective occasions since nan tribunal began, astir precocious successful August erstwhile it directed it to complete a equality effect appraisal and use to ultimate tribunal ruling “without delay”.

Tuesday was nan conclusion of last submissions, but Kemp warned that he would request clip to see NHS Fife’s amendment exertion first truthful it would beryllium “very difficult to say” erstwhile his judgement would beryllium fresh and that it would not beryllium earlier November.