A Christian social worker who says he was denied a job because of his beliefs on marriage and sexuality is challenging a tribunal ruling that said his would-be employer acted lawfully.
Felix Ngole is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre at a two-day hearing over Wednesday and Thursday at the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London.
He is appealing a decision by the Leeds Employment Tribunal that upheld the withdrawal of a job offer by Touchstone Leeds, a mental health charity and NHS provider.
Touchstone Leeds withdrew its offer to Ngole after discovering past public comments he had made on social media discussing Biblical views on marriage. The organisation argued the comments were inconsistent with its values and could pose a risk to LGBTQI+ service users.
While the tribunal found that Ngole had been discriminated against when the offer was withdrawn, it ruled that Touchstone’s decision not to reinstate him was justified on safeguarding grounds. The judge said the charity’s concerns about potential harm to service users were proportionate.
Ngole’s legal team argues that the ruling sets a precedent allowing employers to exclude Christians who hold traditional views on sexuality from working in public-facing roles.
His appeal will challenge the tribunal’s judgment, including its reliance on reputational risk and on 'minority stress theory' - the idea that exposure to opposing views can cause psychological harm.
Ngole, who previously won a 2019 free speech case against the University of Sheffield, said in a statement that the tribunal’s decision “sets a dangerous precedent” and penalises Christians for their beliefs.
Speaking ahead of the hearing, he said, “It is untenable for employers to be allowed to discriminate against Christians in this way and to force individuals to promote an ideology that goes against their conscience in the workplace.
“There was no mutual respect, and no tolerance and inclusion of me and my beliefs whatsoever.
“If we get to the point where if you don’t celebrate and support LGBT ideology you can’t have a job, then every Christian out there doesn’t have a future. You can study as much as you like, but you will not have a chance.
“The UK is no longer the country I heard about all those years ago when fleeing Cameroon. The UK then was a bastion of free speech and expression.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said the group would continue to support Ngole’s case, describing the original ruling as “inconsistent” and “deeply discriminatory.”
“This ruling opens up the reality of employers discriminating against and denying employment to anyone who does not celebrate and promote complete LGBT affirmation," she said.
"We are creating a society where social workers, doctors, nurses and psychologists, for example, have to be silent or face accusations that merely holding their protected beliefs could lead to patients coming to harm.
“You could not ask for a better and more compassionate social worker than Felix Ngole. Felix loves Jesus and believes what the Bible says about who we are as humans.
“The Court of Appeal found that Felix had not and wasn’t likely to discriminate against anybody. However, this ruling concludes that just the knowledge that he holds Christian beliefs on human sexuality means he is unsuitable for employment in the NHS.
“This ruling cannot stand and it is deeply discriminatory. We will fight for Felix until he receives justice.”
