A sacked Christian school worker has had a major win in court, after she was fired for social media posts that raised concerns about sex education and transgender ideology being taught in her son’s primary school.

Kristie Higgs was sacked for ‘gross misconduct’ after questioning the appropriateness of the mandatory sex education lessons being taught in the Church of England school.

An anonymous complaint was made to her employer, a different school, after Mrs Higgs made comments on her private Facebook account.

After a six-year legal battle, Mrs Higgs eventually won in the Court of Appeal, with the judges noting that the school’s response was “disproportionate”.

In a previous blog, we reported how an Employment Tribunal initially ruled against Kristie, acknowledging her right to hold Christian views but arguing that her posts might be perceived as hostile to LGBT individuals. 

Kristie appealed this decision, and the Court of Appeal found that the original tribunal had failed to properly assess whether her posts were a legitimate manifestation of her faith.

The groundbreaking decision is set to re-shape England’s law on religious discrimination. 

The ruling confirms that the Equality Act protects traditional Christian beliefs on social issues, such as opposition to the ideas of transgenderism and ‘gender-fluidity’ and opposition to same-sex marriage.

The Court ruled that the claimant's dismissal amounted to unlawful discrimination based on "religion and belief," setting a strong precedent that expressions of Christian faith in the workplace are protected by law.

That is a big win for freedom of speech and religion.

Advocates of religious freedom in Australia are hoping that courts in Australian cases will come to similar decisions.

HRLA client Dr Jereth Kok was suspended from practising medicine after an anonymous complaint was made against him for his views on religion, politics and culture expressed on social media. 

His case sparked concerns for the right to practice and express religious beliefs and the overreach of employers and governments into people’s private lives.

Dr Kok’s barrister, Stephen Moloney, said the case is:

“… probably one of the most important cases that has ever been put to the Tribunal in the last 30 years. It goes straight to the democratic right of any practitioner in the State of Victoria to speak about matters of conscience, religion and medical practice in the public square.”

The Higgs result is a positive one for British Christians. As the verdict in Dr Kok’s case looms, Australians can be hopeful that Australian courts also move towards stronger recognition and protection of fundamental freedoms and the right to speak truth without fear of professional punishment.