London, England, Jun 20, 2023 / 09:15 am
A Christian mother of two who was fired from her role as a school pastoral assistant for social media posts concerning sex education has won a legal appeal against the school’s decision.
Kristie Higgs had worked at the Church of England Farmor’s School in Fairford, Gloucestershire, for six years when an anonymous complaint about her posts on Facebook in October 2018 led to her being suspended and eventually fired for “gross misconduct” the following January.
In October 2020, the Bristol Employment Tribunal ruled that Higgs had not suffered discrimination or harassment; however, on Friday, June 16, the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled that the case should be reconsidered.
The president of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Dame Jennifer Eady, supported Higgs’ appeal against the decision, saying: “The freedom to manifest belief (religious or otherwise) and to express views relating to that belief are essential rights in any democracy, whether or not the belief in question is popular or mainstream and even if its expression may offend.”