A nurse has failed in her claim of discrimination against a union about her beliefs on biological sex and gender.

Sandie Peggie alleged the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) had failed to adequately support her during a dispute with NHS Fife and Dr Beth Upton.

The RCN disputed the claim, arguing that it had acted "reasonably" throughout the process.

It is the second employment tribunal brought by Peggie over the dispute with Dr Upton, a transgender woman - that is a biological male who identifies as a woman.

The RCN said it welcomed the tribunal's decision and that it would "support all of its members".

A spokesperson for Peggie said her legal representatives were considering the judgement before recommending any "further legal steps available to her".

Peggie objected to sharing a changing room with Dr Upton at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy and a number of disagreements over the subject came to a head in December 2023.

The nurse was suspended in January 2024 and took both Dr Upton - who has since left the NHS - and the health board to a long-running and high-profile tribunal.

Peggie partially won a claim for harassment against NHS Fife last December, but her other allegations of discrimination and victimisation, including those against Dr Upton, were dismissed.

Peggie holds what are described as "gender critical" or "sex realist" beliefs that people are born male or female and cannot change sex.

The second tribunal, which finished hearing evidence in Dundee last month, centred around whether Peggie should have been provided with legal advice after the union contacted her over her suspension.

Employment judge Melanie Sangster found the RCN had not shown "conscious or subconscious discrimination" towards Peggie during the case.

In a written decision, Judge Sangster said Peggie did not "request legal assistance", following her suspension, during a call with RCN representative Stuart Fraser.

The tribunal ruled that Fraser's approach during the call was "in line with the approach he would take in other cases".

Peggie subsequently received funding for legal representation in her case against NHS Fife and Dr Upton from campaign group Sex Matters.

She was formally refused legal assistance by Norman Provan, associate director of employment with RCN, in January 2025.

In written reasons issued by Provan to Peggie, he said that she had already sought independent legal advice and her claim had been submitted prior to Peggie seeking RCN assistance.

Peggie was told Fraser and the RCN would continue to represent her in internal disciplinary matters.

The nurse also raised a claim over the fact a union official had not "copied" a letter from Peggie requesting assurances over protections for staff with sex realist beliefs in an email to all RCN members.

The tribunal found an RCN official, Gillian Tait, had sought those assurances from NHS Fife, but had only responded to Peggie as she understood her role was to support her individually in her return to work.

Judge Sangster agreed that the email would have been circulated wider if others had raised similar concerns, but none of the RCN's 55,000 Scottish members had done so.

Peggie, who has not returned to work since her initial suspension due to stress, was cleared of misconduct by NHS Fife in July 2025.

A spokesperson for Peggie described Judge Sangster's decision as "worrying" for union members.

They said the judgement entitled the union to "characterise" female staff's concerns over sharing spaces with colleagues born as biological males as a "disagreement" rather than "an expression of her protected belief".

They added: "It raises serious questions about the value of trade union membership if, when members report workplace concerns, the responsibility falls on them, rather than on experienced and trained union officers supported by internal and external legal teams, to identify the correct statutory basis for potential legal claims."

An RCN spokesperson said: "The judgment is comprehensive and 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."

They added: "The RCN is an anti-discrimination organisation, supporting all of its members."