Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 09 December 2025
09 Dec 2025 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Urgent Question
Employment Tribunal Decision (Sandie Peggie v NHS Fife)
The ruling in the Sandie Peggie case leaves significant questions for NHS Fife and the Scottish Government to answer. The Scottish Government wrote to health boards in early September about the Supreme Court judgment, but left it as a matter for individual boards to consider, following their own legal advice. Surely we should have one consistent approach across Scotland, in which the legal advice for boards is the same and a woman does not need first to complain to have her employer follow the law—or does the Scottish Government expect individual front-line staff to be their own experts on human rights law?
In the same item of business
Tess White (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the decision of the employment tribunal of Sandie Peggie v NHS Fife health board.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Neil Gray)
SNP
We note the judgment in this very complex case. Individual decisions by the board in relation to employment matters are a matter for the board, but, as a Gov...
Tess White
Con
NHS Fife was found to have harassed a nurse of 30 years just for standing up for her rights to privacy and dignity. Her sex-based rights under the Equality A...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Liam McArthur)
LD
Speak through the chair.
Neil Gray
SNP
I have been very clear since coming to office—as, I believe, my predecessors were—on the importance of dignity and respect for all people in the employment i...
Tess White
Con
Cabinet secretary, what about the care and compassion for female nurses?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Through the chair, Ms White.
Tess White
Con
The floodgates have opened and the judgment is the thin end of the wedge for employment tribunal cases and settlements. Millions of pounds of hard-earned tax...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Through the chair, Ms White.
Tess White
Con
Presiding Officer, will the cabinet secretary personally oversee a review of the policies and guidelines that are being influenced by those organisations bef...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Cabinet secretary.
Tess White
Con
—or will he, under his watch, allow—
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
Cabinet secretary.
Neil Gray
SNP
Presiding Officer, I think that we are going slightly beyond the tribunal decision. To provide some context, the tribunal has still to proceed to a remedy; t...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
LD
A number of members wish to ask supplementary questions; I hope to get all those in, but they will need to be slightly briefer.
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab)
Lab
The ruling in the Sandie Peggie case leaves significant questions for NHS Fife and the Scottish Government to answer. The Scottish Government wrote to health...
Neil Gray
SNP
Again, the Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court ruling. We accept that judgment and are taking forward the detailed work that is necessary as a cons...
Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
This case is a prime example of the Scottish National Party’s flawed self-identification guidance having gone wrong. It has been nearly eight months since th...
Neil Gray
SNP
I have already given the Government’s position on the Supreme Court, in answer to Jackie Baillie. Again, I will provide context on where we are when it comes...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Green
Despite the valiant attempts of anti-trans campaigners to claim a win on the issue, the tribunal found that Ms Peggie’s behaviour amounted to harassment of D...
Neil Gray
SNP
As I said, we are still working through and will consider carefully the tribunal ruling and its implication not just for the health service but for wider pub...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
The conduct of the senior management of NHS Fife throughout this entire episode has been disgraceful. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money has bee...
Neil Gray
SNP
The tribunal has still to proceed to a remedy and the parties involved still have 14 days to appeal the decision. I note that four claims were upheld out of ...
Emma Roddick (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
SNP
Everybody, regardless of their protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, has the right to feel safe at work and free from harassment. Organisati...
Neil Gray
SNP
I have already set out that I expect, from a health service perspective, a culture of openness, transparency and support for patients and members of staff to...
Douglas Ross (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
Shamefully, during the tribunal, the cabinet secretary expressed confidence in the senior leadership of NHS Fife. Now he must have come to the conclusion tha...
Neil Gray
SNP
I have already said in response to Murdo Fraser’s question that the tribunal still has a course to run, which includes the conclusion of the remedy, and that...
Ash Regan (Edinburgh Eastern) (Ind)
Ind
The Sandie Peggie employment tribunal exposes not just one employer’s failings but a systemic collapse in how public bodies understand and uphold women’s sex...
Neil Gray
SNP
We have been clear since the Supreme Court ruling that we accept its judgment. We are taking forward the detailed work that is necessary as a consequence. We...
Rachael Hamilton (Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (Con)
Con
It is clear that the SNP’s gender self-identification policy still prevails in spite of the Supreme Court judgment. Sandie Peggie’s case proves that the burd...