A Christian school pastoral worker has lost her claim for unfair dismissal after losing her job at a London Catholic school.
She had posted in support of Biblical marriage on her personal social media accounts. Gozen Soydag, 37, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), says she is ‘devasted and confused’ by the decision and will appeal.
Gozen took legal action against Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls which she said censored her social media accounts and beliefs before sacking her. The CLC said that despite taking down posts which an anonymous complainant said had caused ‘offence’, Gozen was told her beliefs on marriage were ‘incompatible with the school’s ethos’. Her claims for harassment, discrimination and human rights breaches were also dismissed. The Employment Tribunal judge decided her posts had: ‘… only celebrated the nuclear family, which could make other students from different backgrounds feel devalued’.
Andrea Williams of the CLC said: ‘This is another example of schools, which on the surface have a strong Christian ethos, panicking and capitulating to secular orthodoxy and the ‘offence’ of Christian marriage. The judgment manipulates the facts and evidence to construct a conclusion to suit its ends.’
