Judgement reserved in Christian school worker’s LGBT lessons tribunal
from BBC News:
A tribunal has reserved judgement in the case of a Christian school worker who was sacked for comments criticising LGBT lessons on Facebook.
Kristie Higgs, 44, was dismissed for gross misconduct by Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, last year after sharing two posts.
At the employment tribunal in Bristol, she claims her sacking breached her freedom of speech and religion.
The panel is expected to give its decision at a later date.
During three days of evidence, school governor Stephen Conlan, who had chaired Mrs Higgs’ disciplinary hearing, said she was dismissed because of the language used in the posts.
He told the tribunal: “We were not concerned with Mrs Higgs’s religious beliefs. We were concerned with the manner in which those beliefs were expressed.
“You can post your beliefs without posting this sort of language and it is perfectly possible to communicate your beliefs without using such strong language.”
In legal submissions, Debbie Grennan, representing the school, said it had a duty to be “inclusive to all staff and pupils”.
See also: The curious case of Kristie Higgs: where is the Church of England? by Archbishop Cranmer: “despite her son’s school being a CofE primary, the Church of England has not issued a statement in her defence; not a whisper of compassion; not a word about her rights of freedom of expression and freedom of religion; not a single utterance of reassurance that parents are free to voice their concerns about Relationships and Sex Education…”
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