Christian school worker vindicated at Court of Appeal

The dismissal of a Christian teaching assistant for sharing her concerns about extreme sex ed materials in her son’s school was unlawful, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Lord Justice Underhill said the decision to sack Mrs Kristie Higgs for expressing her views to friends on social media about the controversial ‘No Outsiders’ programme “constituted unlawful discrimination on the ground of religion and belief”.

In 2019, Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, argued that Mrs Higgs’ comments on her personal Facebook page could damage its reputation and dismissed her for gross misconduct.

Disciplinary panel

Mrs Higgs’ first post focused on a Relationships and Sex Education petition, while the second was linked to an article on pro-LGBT children’s books.

An anonymous complaint to her secondary school employer prompted a disciplinary panel to consider the case.

Farmor’s decided that she should be dismissed – despite having an exemplary record – on grounds including “illegal discrimination”.

She was accused of “serious inappropriate use of social media”, and “online comments that could bring the school into disrepute and damage the reputation of the school”.

Glory to God

After a six-year battle, Mrs Higgs gave “praise, glory and honour” to God for the decision.

She said: “Today’s judgment is as important for free speech as it is for freedom of religion. Employers will no longer be able to rely on their theoretical fears of reputational damage or subjective concerns about causing offence to discipline employees for exercising their fundamental freedom to express their deeply held beliefs.

“The Court of Appeal has now set a clear standard to protect people like me, and the countless other Christians in this nation, to express their beliefs without fear of losing their jobs.”

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre which supported the case, observed: “The Court of Appeal has confirmed, loud and clear, that ideological censorship at workplace is illegal, and any employer who tramples upon their employees’ right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion breaks the law of the land.”

Vindicated

Responding to the news of Mrs Higgs’ victory, The Christian Institute’s Director Ciarán Kelly said: “Kristie should never have been put in this position.

“Just like Adrian Smith and Felix Ngole before her, she was discriminated against and forced to fight through the judicial system simply for expressing her sincerely-held beliefs.

“Such treatment is clearly wrong, and it is wonderful to see that after all these years of waiting she has been vindicated.”