A Christian social worker has begun an appeal against an employment tribunal ruling that he was not discriminated against when he was rejected for a job after a health charity discovered his views on homosexuality.
Felix Ngole told a hearing in 2024 that Touchstone Leeds discriminated against him because of his religious beliefs when they refused him the job as a hospital discharge mental health support worker based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, in 2022.
He had previously won a Court of Appeal case against Sheffield University, which had wanted to prevent him from completing his social work degree after it became aware of a Facebook row in which he said homosexuality and same-sex marriage were a sin.
Touchstone found that Mr Ngole was the best-qualified candidate for the role and offered him the job, but after management conducted a Google search and discovered reports on the Sheffield University case, the offer was withdrawn and he was called back for a second interview.
In an appeal hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for Mr Ngole challenged the 2024 ruling of Employment Judge Jonathan Brain, who agreed that he was directly discriminated against when Touchstone rescinded the initial job offer, but rejected further claims of discrimination around the second interview and the final decision not to give him the job.
During the 2024 hearing, Touchstone argued that vulnerable LGBT service users requiring mental health support could be more likely to harm themselves if they found out Mr Ngole’s views about homosexuality.
But the Cameroon-born grandfather, who lives in Barnsley, argued that his religious views would not prevent him from looking after an LGBT service user.
In his judgment in June 2024, Judge Brain said: “The difficulty which is presented in this case was the acute sensitivity and needs of a particular section of the respondent’s (Touchstone) clientele with whom the claimant applied to work.
“Balancing the interests of the respondent in preserving the mental health of their service users against the wishes of the claimant to work for the respondent and his ability to work elsewhere gives of only one answer.
“The balance favours the respondent, and their actions were therefore proportionate and are justified.”
Mr Ngole, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, said the tribunal’s ruling sets a dangerous precedent, effectively barring Christians who hold traditional views on marriage from working in professions that serve LGBT individuals.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Bruno Qunitavalle, for Mr Ngole, set out a number of legal grounds on which the appeal is being made.
Speaking before the appeal hearing in London on Wednesday, Mr Ngole said: “I was pleased that the tribunal found that I was discriminated against, but there were so many disturbing comments and conclusions in it as well which meant I had to appeal.
“The ruling ultimately sets a dangerous precedent as it gives employers the freedom to block Christians, and anyone who doesn’t promote LGBTQI+ ideology, from employment.
“If I was discriminated against when they withdrew the job offer then I don’t see how I was not also discriminated against when they refused to reinstate me after the second interview.
“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.”
