School employee appeals dismissal amid allegations of links to Christian beliefs

Senior judges will hear a school employee’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 criticizing plans to teach LGBT+ relationships in primary schools.

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

Students should learn about the No Outsiders In Our School program, which is a series of books that teach the Equality Act in elementary schools.

Ms Higgs, who posted on Facebook under her maiden name, shared two posts in October 2018 with about 100 friends.

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

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

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

The school denied firing the mother of two because of her religious beliefs and said she was fired because of the language used in the posts.

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

Ms Higgs appealed this decision to the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London, which ruled in her favor and sent the case back to an employment tribunal for a further decision.

Lawyers for Mrs Higgs appealed the decision to order a rehearing at the employment tribunal and have now won the right to have their case heard by judges at the Court of Appeal.

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

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

Before the hearing, Ms Higgs said: “I wouldn’t want any parent to go through what I’ve gone through over the last five years. No one should be fired for raising the concerns I did in the way I did.

“My posts were a wake-up call and much of what has happened in the debate over the last five years has vindicated me.

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

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

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

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

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