Felix Ngole (Photo: The Christian Legal Centre)
A Christian social worker whose offer of a job was withdrawn over public comments he made about marriage and sexuality has won his case at appeal.
Touchstone Leeds, a mental health and wellbeing charity and NHS provider, withdrew the conditional job offer to Felix Ngole after discovering his past statements expressing a traditional view of marriage and sexuality.
At a previous Employment Tribunal, the charity argued that LGBTQI+ service users might discover Mr Ngole’s views online and suffer distress or negative mental health consequences.
During the original tribunal, Touchstone’s head of operations, Dave Pickard, had claimed that quoting John 3:16 could be “triggering” for service users, according to the Christian Legal Centre, which has been supporting Mr Ngole.
That tribunal acknowledged that Mr Ngole was discriminated against because of his beliefs but ultimately ruled that the charity’s actions were proportionate and justified due to safeguarding and reputational concerns.
The original ruling was overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) at a hearing on Monday in what the Christian Legal Centre called “a significant win for Christian freedom and free speech”.
The EAT concluded that the original judgment amounted to discrimination against Mr Ngole’s beliefs in a manner that is “not capable of justification”.
However, the EAT found other legal flaws in the original ruling and has sent parts of the case back to the Employment Tribunal for reconsideration.
Mr Ngole plans to appeal certain aspects of the EAT ruling with which he disagrees.
Commenting on the outcome, he said, “I am pleased to see the Employment Appeal Tribunal recognise that I should not have been refused this job solely because people might discover my mainstream Christian beliefs online.
“However, I am frustrated that the case has been sent back to the Employment Tribunal. I have supported vulnerable individuals from all backgrounds throughout my professional life, and I have never sought to impose my beliefs on anyone.”
Christian Legal Centre chief executive Andrea Williams said, “The ruling makes clear what should always have been obvious – there can be no excuse for discriminating Christians in the workplace because members of the public might discover their protected beliefs online.”
It is not the first time Mr Ngole has had to defend his rights in court. In 2019, he won a landmark free speech case at the Court of Appeal against the University of Sheffield in 2019 after being expelled over Facebook comments he had previously made upholding Biblical sexual ethics.
Also supported by the Christian Legal Centre in that case, the Court of Appeal ruled at the time: “The mere expression of religious views about sin does not necessarily connote discrimination.”
