Influential Judgment Evaluates Employee Right To Expression Of Beliefs

The Court of Appeal has delivered its judgment in the prominent case of Mrs Kristie Higgs v Farmor's School, concerning a Christian school administrator who was dismissed after sharing gender-critical and anti-LGBT beliefs on social media. The ruling represents an important reference point for employers in relation to the rights of employees to express beliefs in accordance with their religion, including whether limitations on expression can be imposed by employers.

Case background

The Claimant, Mrs Higgs, was employed as a pastoral administrator at Farmor's School, an academy trust state secondary school in Gloucestershire. Having worked for the school since 2012, she described herself as a Christian with a belief in the literal truth of the Bible. In October 2018, Mrs Higgs shared a post on Facebook about a government consultation on relationship education in primary schools, criticising proposals that "same sex marriage is exactly the same as traditional