Christian will appeal against part of the judgment at the Leeds employment tribunal

A Christian social worker who was turned down for a job after a charity discovered his views on homosexuality has said he will appeal against a part of the employment tribunal ruling on the matter.

Felix Ngole, 46, from Barnsley, was initially offered a role at Touchstone Leeds in 2022, but it was withdrawn after it emerged he believed homosexuality was a sin.

He was asked to attend a second interview, but after still not being given the job despite being considered the “best qualified” candidate, Mr Ngole claimed his religious beliefs were discriminated against.

A tribunal agreed on Monday that Mr Ngole was directly discriminated against when the original offer was rescinded, but rejected further claims of discrimination surrounding the second interview and the final decision not to give him the job.

In a written judgment, the tribunal also dismissed Mr Ngole’s claims of indirect discrimination and harassment.

Mr Ngole previously won a Court of Appeal case against Sheffield University, which sought to prevent him from completing his social work degree because of his orthodox Christian views.

During the employment tribunal hearing earlier this year, Touchstone Leeds said vulnerable LGBT service users who needed mental health support could be more likely to harm themselves if they learned of Mr Ngole’s views on homosexuality.

But the Cameroonian-born grandfather claimed his religious views would not prevent him from caring for an LGBT service user.

In the published judgment, employment judge Jonathan Brain said: “The expression of his beliefs rooted in his religion was a material reason for Touchstone’s decision to withdraw the conditional offer of employment on 10 June 2022.

“The direct discrimination claim must therefore succeed.”

But the ruling added that “offering a second meeting or interviews was the least intrusive way to proceed.”

“It is difficult to see how properly questioning this suitability, once his orthodox Christian views have reasonably come to light, could be considered a violation of his dignity or to create an intimidating environment for him”, they say.

Touchstone Leeds could not take the risk of a “vulnerable” user discovering Mr Ngole’s views because the effect could be “potentially devastating”, Judge Brain said.

“The balance favors the respondent, and their actions were therefore proportionate and justified,” he concluded.

Following the publication of the judgment, Mr Ngole said he was “satisfied that the tribunal has found that I have been discriminated against”.

However, he added that there are “so many disturbing comments and conclusions in it that I have no choice but to appeal”.

“I have never been accused of forcing my beliefs on anyone and I have supported vulnerable people from all backgrounds, including LGBT,” he said.

“If we get to the point where if you don’t celebrate and support LGBT people, you can’t have a job, then every Christian out there has no future.”

The Christian Legal Centre, which supported Mr Ngole, said the ruling “includes mixed and frightening conclusions for Christian liberties and freedom of expression”.

Andrea Williams, the center’s executive director, called the judge’s reasoning “contorted.”

“This ruling opens up the reality of employers discriminating against and refusing to hire anyone who does not celebrate and promote full LGBT affirmation,” she said.

In a statement, Touchstone said: “We very clearly and publicly pride ourselves on being a strong ally of the LGBTQI+ community, as well as all faith communities.

“We would never want to lose the trust of the communities we work so hard to support and serve, nor are we prepared to compromise our values ​​at any time.

“We believe we have done the right thing in defending this action and acting in line with our values, with the primary aim being to protect our service users, staff and everyone involved in our charity.”