School worker appeals against dismissal amid claim of links to Christian beliefs

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Senior judges are to hear a school worker’s appeal against her dismissal after she claimed she was sacked because of her Christian beliefs.

Kristie Higgs, 47, was dismissed for gross misconduct by Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, in 2019 after sharing Facebook posts criticising plans to teach LGBT+ relationships in primary schools.

Mrs Higgs, from Fairford, shared and commented on posts which raised concerns about relationship education at her son’s Church of England primary school.

Pupils were to learn about the No Outsiders In Our School programme, which is a series of books teaching the Equality Act in primary schools.

Mrs Higgs, who was posting on Facebook under her maiden name, shared two posts in October 2018 to about 100 friends.

One of the posts referred to “brainwashing our children”.

An anonymous complaint was made to the school and Mrs Higgs was suspended and, after a disciplinary hearing, dismissed for gross misconduct.

Mrs Higgs, supported by the Christian Legal Centre, took the school to an employment tribunal, arguing she had been unlawfully discriminated against because of her Christian beliefs.

The school had denied dismissing the mother-of-two because of her religious beliefs and said she was sacked because of the language used in the posts.

In its ruling in 2020, the tribunal concluded her religion is a “protected characteristic” as defined by the Equality Act, but the school lawfully dismissed her.

Mrs Higgs appealed against that judgment to the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London, which ruled in her favour and remitted the case back to an employment tribunal for a fresh determination.

Mrs Higgs’s lawyers appealed against the decision to order a fresh employment tribunal hearing and have now won the right to have her case heard by Court of Appeal judges.

The hearing is due to begin at the Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday.

The court has given permission for the Association of Christian Teachers, Free Speech Union, Sex Matters, the Church of England Archbishops’ Council and Commission for Equality and Human Rights to intervene.

Ahead of the hearing, Mrs Higgs said: “I wouldn’t want any parent to go through what I have over the past five years. Nobody should be sacked for raising the concerns that I did in the way that I did.

“My posts were a warning and so much of what has happened in the debate over the past five years has vindicated me.

“I pray now that the Court of Appeal will make the right judgment and will make a ruling that protects Christian employees and parents’ freedom to express their beliefs without fear of being silenced.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “This case is profoundly important for free speech and Christian freedom. Its outcome will set an important legal precedent for many years to come.

“This case has exposed at every stage systemic prejudice against the Christian faith and its teachings. First at her school and then in the courts. Now is the time to put things right.

“The outcome of this case will be huge and has been a long five-year journey.

“We pray now for justice for Kristie and that there will be a ruling that not only protects Christian freedoms, but also protects freedom for everyone in the UK.”