In a “groundbreaking” judgment, the Court of Appeal has reversed a ruling that defended the sacking of a Christian school assistant over beliefs she expressed in private Facebook posts.
Kristie Higgs was fired by Farmor’s Secondary School, in Gloucestershire, in 2019 after she shared a petition on Facebook that was challenging compulsory sex education in schools. In the second post, she shared an article expressing concern about the presence in British and American schools of books promoting transgender ideology.
After an anonymous complaint was made to the school, Mrs Higgs was investigated and eventually sacked for allegedly bringing the school into disrepute.
She has spent the last six years fighting her sacking in the courts and has at last won at the Court of Appeal in London today.
The judgment handed down by the court said her dismissal was “unquestionably a disproportionate response”, and that “even if the language of the re-posts passes the threshold of objectionability, it is not grossly offensive”.
It further said that there was “no evidence” that the school’s reputation had been damaged and concluded that Higgs’ dismissal constituted “unlawful discrimination on the ground of religion and belief”.
Commenting on her victory, Higgs said she hoped the ruling would lead to lasting change for Christians in the workplace.
“Expressing biblical Christian teaching on gender and sexuality may appear to be offensive to those who hold the opposite views, but as today’s judgment signals, Christians have a right to express their beliefs publicly,” she said.
“This is not just about me. Too many Christians have suffered discipline or marginalisation at their work because of their Christian faith.”
She continued, “I pray that today will prove to be a landmark day for Christian freedoms and free speech.
“Christians have the right to express their beliefs on social media and at other non-work-related settings without fear of being punished by their employer.
“Expressing biblical truth is not discriminatory. It is an expression of love and of light.
“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.”
The Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which has defended her from the beginning, called the judgment “seminal”.
“The authoritative judgment re-shapes the law on freedom of religion in the workplace. For the first time in employment law, the judgment has effectively established a legal presumption that any dismissal for an expression or manifestation of Christian faith is illegal,” it said.
CLC chief executive Andrea Williams said, “Free speech and religious liberty are not yet extinguished from the English law. The outcome of Kristie’s case sets an important legal precedent for many years to come.
“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.
“This is a great victory for Kristie, who lost her job and livelihood for doing no more than expressing her dismay at the nonsensical ideas of gender-fluidity being taught to her child at a Church of England primary school.”
