A nurse at a Scottish hospital has denied comparing a transgender doctor to a convicted rapist in a tribunal case that has serious implications for UK employment law. The hearing will determine whether sharing a changing room with a trans person constitutes harassment under the Equality Act. Sandie Peggie was suspended last year after she took issue with sharing a changing room with doctor Beth Upton, a trans woman. Peggie said that she felt “embarrassed and intimidated” by Dr Upton’s decision to use the same changing room.
During her second day of evidence, Ms Peggie claimed she was previously unaware that the Bryson case involved a rapist, and said: “I never compared Beth to being a rapist.” Jane Russell KC, the lawyer representing Dr Upton and NHS Fife, suggested that the comment fed into a narrative that trans women were predators.
The tribunal will hear from a patient who was left in a serious condition after Ms Peggie allegedly walked away from the patient when Beth entered the room. Ms Peggie has denied any wrong-doing and said that she did not have a problem with Dr Upton. The hearing, which is expected to last 10 days, will determine whether sharing a changing room with a trans person constitutes harassment under the Equality Act. The outcome could have a significant impact on employment law in the UK.
The National Health Service (NHS) has previously pointed out that NHS guidance permits trans men and women to use the changing rooms consistent with their gender identity. The case has been viewed as a significant test of the government’s position on controversial issues, like the Equality Act. Changing room provisions in particular have been areas in which critics have accused the government of insufficiently updating legal requirements to protect the rights of trans people. Any decision will be looked to as a significant legal precedent for employment law that could be seen as increasingly out of step with recent trends in civil rights across Europe.
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