The nurse Sandie Peggie, who was suspended after complaining about sharing a female changing room with a transgender doctor, is to appeal her employment tribunal ruling.
Ms Peggie was found to have been harassed by NHS Fife, but allegations that she was victimised and discriminated against were dismissed.
She has vowed not to give up her legal fight “any time soon” following the ruling in the employment tribunal.
Ms Peggie was suspended by the health board after complaining about having to share a changing room with Dr Beth Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy on Christmas Eve 2023.
Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment against the nurse, who was then placed on special leave, and raised concerns about patient care.
Ms Peggie lodged a claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment, harassment related to a protected belief, indirect discrimination and victimisation.
The harassment claim was upheld, but allegations of discrimination, indirect discrimination and victimisation were dismissed.
Speaking on Thursday, she said: “I am not a campaigner and (had) never heard of the phrase ‘gender critical’,” she said.
“When I first raised complaints over two years ago about my employer’s decision to allow men into female-only changing rooms, I just knew instinctively that it wasn’t right that women were expected to undress in front of men in private spaces, and I still believe this to be the case.
“Whilst I am delighted that the tribunal was critical of Fife health board and found they had harassed me, their judgment, I believe, falls short in many respects, and that is why I certainly won’t be giving up this legal fight any time soon.”
Solicitor Margaret Gribbon described some of the findings in the ruling as “highly problematic”.
Ms Gribbon said: “For instance, the judgment places responsibility on female employees to raise complaints if they feel uncomfortable about sharing single-sex spaces with men.
“This ignores industrial realities. When Sandie objected, she was suspended, subjected to an unreasonably lengthy disciplinary investigation and falsely accused of patient care concerns.”
She accused NHS Fife of “going on an “archaeological dig to find material to discredit her”, and said during the tribunal that the health board’s KC had suggested her client had “lied about having experienced a menstrual flood on Christmas Eve 2023”.
She went on: “So against that background, it is difficult to envisage what woman would contemplate raising a complaint of this nature.”
Ms Gribbon added: “The judgment also places employers in the invidious position of having to make decisions about single-sex workplace facilities, based on the physical appearance of transgender employees and by asking them intrusive questions.
“For these reasons and more, I can confirm that the tribunal’s judgment will be appealed and work on this is already under way.”
Meanwhile, an amended version of the tribunal decision is to be issued, amid claims by supporters of the nurse that parts of the initial decision were “made up”.
A “certificate of correction” was released on Thursday which amends a paragraph in the 312-page judgment.
In a statement following the amended ruling, Maya Forstater, chief executive of charity Sex Matters and a supporter of Ms Peggie’s case, said: “I knew this was wrong, and it’s good it’s being amended, but I am astonished that it happened and I would like an explanation of how it happened.”
She added: “Mistakes like this severely undermine people’s confidence in the legal process.”
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