English Christian social worker Felix Ngole has won his discrimination case before the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in London after challenging a ruling that he was lawfully denied employment because of his traditional beliefs on marriage and sexuality.

But his legal ordeal that has already gone on for 11 years of twists and turns in courts and tribunals is still not over after an employment tribunal was ordered to re-examine its handling of his case.

Mr. Ngole had a conditional job offer withdrawn by mental health charity and NHS provider Touchstone Leeds after concerns were raised about his historic public statements debating Biblical teaching on marriage.

Touchstone discovered that In 2019, he won a landmark free speech case at the Court of Appeal against the University of Sheffield after being expelled from his social work degree over a social media comment upholding Biblical sexual ethics.

HOW SOCIAL WORKER’S LEGAL ORDEAL BEGAN

His tribulation began way back in 2015 when he joined an online discussion about Kim Davis, a state official in the US state of Kentucky, who was jailed for refusing to issue licences for same-sex marriages.

Mr. Ngole expressed the view that “the Bible and God identify homosexuality as a sin”.

In his case against the university, the Court of Appeal ruled that “the mere expression of religious views about sin does not necessarily connote discrimination,” and recognised that he had never been shown to have acted in a discriminatory fashion.

However in his latest case, Touchstone Leeds argued that service users might discover these views online and “suffer negative mental health consequences.”

WHY FELIX NGOLE’S JOB OFFER WAS WITHDRAWN

In May 2022, Touchstone offered Mr. Ngole a social work position at Wakefield Hospital, managing the discharge of patients with mental health conditions.

He gained the highest marks of any candidate on an equality and diversity assessment.

But within weeks after Touchstone chief executive Kathryn Hart discovered the university case, the company withdrew its offer to the Cameroon-born grandfather.

Ms. Hart told Mr. Ngole that he would be unsuitable for the Wakefield position because of his “strong views against homosexuality and same-sex marriage, which completely go against the views of Touchstone, an organisation committed to actively promoting and supporting LGBTQ+ rights.”

MR NGOLE FILES DISCRIMINATION CASE AGAINST CHARITY

The social worker then filed a case with the Leeds Employment Tribunal (ET) which ruled in 2024 that Touchstone had directly discriminated against Mr. Ngole by withdrawing the job offer.

However, that ruling controversially did not require Touchstone to reinstate Ngole.

In what his legal team from the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) called a “confusing twist”, Judge Jonathan Brain said that while Touchstone’s original withdrawal of the offer was direct discrimination, “the reason why the job offer was not reinstated is [Ngole’s] performance in interview.”

The judge went on to call Touchstone’s concerns “well-founded,” because “others (in particular, service users) may come across his beliefs which may be harmful to their already vulnerable mental health.”

OUTRAGEOUS VIEWS OF JUDGE AND MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY

Judge Brain said that Mr. Ngole’s Biblical views might deter mentally ill people who identify as LGBTQ from receiving the health care services Touchstone offers, “risking [Touchstone’s] ability to perform their core health care functions and risking significant reputational damage.”

In a striking moment during the hearing, Touchstone’s Head of Operations, Dave Pickard, an LGBTQI+ activist, claimed that even quoting John 3:16 could be “triggering” for service users.

He further suggested that expressing disagreement with same-sex marriage or stating there are only two genders “could lead to death.”

Judge Brain concluded that Touchstone’s actions were “proportionate,” and that the balance of rights favoured the organisation’s duty to protect its service users over Mr. Ngole’s right to employment in this context.

MR. NGOLE’S CASE IS SENT BACK  TO TRIBUNAL THAT DENIED HIM A JOB

This week, the EAT ruled that denying Mr. Ngole employment after a two-stage interview would amount to discrimination that is “not capable of justification”.

Responding to the judgment, Mr. Ngole said: “I am pleased to see the recognition that I should not have been refused this job solely because people might discover my mainstream Christian beliefs online.”

But he voiced frustration that the EAT also instructed the ET that refused to reinstate him, to re-examine his case.

“The Employment Tribunal must analyse each reason, or group of related reasons, for the treatment separately and decide whether, at least in part, the treatment of the claimant was, in reality, because of his religious beliefs as opposed to something properly separable from them that justified the treatment,” said the EAT judgement.

“NO ONE SHOULD BE PENALISED FOR AFFIRMING BIBLICAL MARRIAGE”

CLC chief executive Andrea Williams said: “Felix should have won the original trial and subsequent appeal outright.”

“Felix had the job withdrawn and was given a hard time in a second interview for one reason only – his views on Christian marriage which his employer found offensive.”

“No one should be penalised for affirming Biblical marriage – a lifelong union of a man and a woman.”

“The courts need to send the clear message: Christian beliefs are welcome in this society and no employer can mistreat an employee because of their Biblical beliefs.”

“A SIGNIFICANT WIN FOR CHRISTIAN FREEDOM AND FREE SPEECH”

Ms. Williams hailed this week’s ruling as “a significant win for Christian freedom and free speech.”

“The ruling makes clear what should always have been obvious: That there can be no excuse for discriminating [against] Christians in the workplace because members of the public might discover their protected beliefs online.”

Mr. Ngole insisted: “I have supported vulnerable individuals from all backgrounds throughout my professional life, and I have never sought to impose my beliefs on anyone.”

He now intends to appeal parts of the latest ruling

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