A Christian social worker in the United Kingdom has appealed a tribunal ruling that upheld an employer’s decision to withdraw a mental health job offer after discovering his views on homosexuality.
The man claims his religious beliefs were the reason he was denied the position.
The case of Felix Ngole, 47, was heard late last month by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in London. He is appealing a 2024 decision by Employment Judge Jonathan Brain, in which the rescinding of a job offer by Touchtone Leeds was deemed lawful, despite the court acknowledging the action potentially amounted to discrimination.
He and his legal team argue that the tribunal’s ruling effectively bars Christians with traditional views on sexuality from working in professions that serve LGBT individuals and sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“I was pleased that the tribunal found that I was discriminated against, but there were so many disturbing comments and conclusions in it as well which meant I had to appeal,” Ngole said in a statement. “The ruling ultimately sets a dangerous precedent as it gives employers the freedom to block Christians, and anyone who doesn’t promote LGBTQI+ ideology, from employment.”
Ngole was offered a job as a mental health support worker by Touchstone Leeds in 2022, but the charity rescinded the offer after learning about a 2019 legal case involving his expulsion from Sheffield University.
The dispute stemmed from Facebook posts in which Ngole described homosexuality and same-sex marriage as sins, leading the university to block him from completing his social work degree, a decision he later successfully challenged in court.
Touchstone Leeds, based in Wakefield in northern England, said it had concerns about potential reputational damage and the well-being of LGBT clients who might encounter Ngole’s views online.
The BBC reported that Ngole was initially selected as the best-qualified candidate for the hospital discharge mental health support role, but management conducted a Google search after offering him the job and found media coverage of the Sheffield case.
Ngole, a grandfather from Barnsley who fled Cameroon and is supported in his legal efforts by the Christian Legal Centre, was then asked to return for a second interview. He later said the session felt like “an interrogation.” Afterward, the job offer was formally withdrawn. He challenged the decision at an employment tribunal in Leeds, arguing that he had been discriminated against because of his religious beliefs.
In June 2024, Judge Brain ruled that while Ngole was directly discriminated against when the offer was rescinded, Touchstone’s overall actions were lawful. The judge concluded that the charity’s decision not to hire Ngole after the second interview was “proportionate” and “justified,” citing the sensitivity and mental health needs of LGBT service users.
“The difficulty which is presented in this case was the acute sensitivity and needs of a particular section of the respondent’s clientele with whom the claimant applied to work,” Brain said in his ruling. “Balancing the interests of the respondent in preserving the mental health of their service users against the wishes of the claimant to work for the respondent and his ability to work elsewhere gives of only one answer. The balance favors the respondent, and their actions were therefore proportionate and are justified.”
Speaking outside the appeal hearing, Ngole questioned the fairness of being rejected twice, first when the offer was rescinded and again after the second interview.
“If I was discriminated against when they withdrew the job offer, then I don’t see how I was not also discriminated against when they refused to reinstate me after the second interview,” he said.
