British social worker argues religious freedom case for second time

Social worker Felix Ngole on Monday appeared before a London appeals court for arguments in his second legal battle stemming from his Christian beliefs. Ngole previously won a lawsuit against his university after it declared him unfit to work due to his beliefs on marriage and sexuality, according to the Christian Legal Centre, a legal nonprofit. The newer court case stems from a charity’s 2022 decision to rescind a job offer after finding out about Ngole’s beliefs.

Ngole is asking the appeals court to rule that the charity discriminated against him due to his beliefs. If the appeals court does not rule in his favor, an employment tribunal that previously ruled against him will consider his case for the second time.

What’s the background of the case? When mental health charity Touchstone Leeds withdrew the job offer, its representatives said they would reconsider their decision if Ngole discussed how his beliefs interacted with his work during a second interview. After the second interview, the charity said it would not reinstate the job offer, according to the Christian Legal Centre. The charity’s reasons included concerns that patients would be negatively affected by learning of Ngole’s beliefs. An employment tribunal found that the charity’s first decision to withdraw the job offer discriminated against Ngole’s Christian faith. However, the tribunal said Touchstone didn’t discriminate when it brought him back for the second interview and then refused to offer the job, according to the Christian Legal Centre.

An employment appeals tribunal later ruled that the employment tribunal didn’t properly analyze the circumstances of the second interview, according to the Christian Legal Centre. However, it sent the matter back to that original tribunal for reconsideration.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report on a British man’s acquittal after he was prosecuted for distributing gospel tracts.