Free speech row | Firm taken to tribunal after pulling job offer over candidate's LGBT+ social media posts

An employer withdrew a job offer after discovering the candidate’s views on LGBT+ issues, which resulted in the individual winning a landmark legal case.

Felix Ngole had accepted a ‘dream job’ as a Mental Health Support Worker at Touchstone Support, and the onboarding process had progressed to the point that the dad-of-three had been given a start date.

The role would have involved working at Wakefield Hospital to manage the discharge of patients with mental health conditions into the community. But after Kathryn Hart, Touchstone’s deputy chief executive and HR Director, discovered online articles about Ngole’s previous legal case, the offer was withdrawn.

Ngole, a devout Christian, previously won a landmark free speech battle challenging the University of Sheffield’s decision to expel him for Facebook comments regarding same-sex marriage.  He was later reinstated to the course after the Court of Appeal ruled that his personal beliefs would not cause him to discriminate against anyone in his line of work.