Two nurses have told an employment tribunal they were abandoned by their "anti-women" union during separate disputes over transgender issues. Jennifer Melle and Bethany Hutchison appeared as witnesses in colleague Sandie Peggie’s case against the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
Nurse's pronoun dispute
A&E nurse Ms Melle won a settlement from Epsom and St Helier Hospitals NHS Trust after she was sanctioned for using incorrect pronouns to address a 6ft bearded paedophile male patient who identified as a female. She told the hearing the RCN, the world’s biggest nursing union, failed to help "when I needed them the most".
Ms Melle described how a patient became "vile and abusive" towards her when she used a "biological pronoun", which sparked a complaint. She was later placed under investigation and contacted the RCN for support. When a representative asked her to write a reflection on what had happened, she said it "felt like more punishment".
Union's response questioned
Ms Melle said she was later referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council regulator and questioned "why they didn’t help me when I needed them the most". She said: "I was very shaken – having sleepless nights, having panic attacks." She claimed the union had "neglected the urgency" of the case.
Bethany Hutchison, one of seven nurses who said they failed to receive RCN support in their fight against County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, which allowed a biological male identifying as a woman to use female-only staff changing rooms, said she felt like a "naughty schoolgirl - like I was being told off for something". She also claimed the RCN had "abandoned their members - particularly their female members".
Peggie's case continues
Mrs Peggie, 52, claims she was discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs, saying the union failed to adequately support her during a dispute with NHS Fife. She previously brought a case against her employer after sharing a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital in December 2023.
The first employment tribunal awarded Ms Peggie a partial victory against the health board, upholding claims of harassment against her employer, but dismissing allegations of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation. She is appealing after losing those claims, with that hearing due in the new year.
Mrs Peggie’s case claims the RCN refused her request for legal support in January 2025 during NHS Fife’s handling of her disciplinary investigation and failed to adequately advocate for her when she sought guarantees that changing facilities should be single-sex. She is seeking a finding that the union discriminated against her because of her gender critical and sex realist beliefs. Her supporters include Harry Potter author JK Rowling and the Christian Legal Centre. The tribunal in Dundee continues.
