UPDATE: Kristie’s case has now been adjourned until further notice. However, please do keep praying for Kristie, her case and our legal team as they continue to prepare to take her case forward. Thank you for your support.
In April 2019, we shared with you one of the most disturbing cases we’ve dealt with at the Christian Legal Centre.
Mother of two Kristie Higgs was sacked for gross misconduct for simply sharing her concerns about compulsory Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) to her friends on Facebook – concerns which have recently been validated by new government guidance on how these lessons should be taught.
Kristie’s appeal will finally be heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal starting tomorrow.
Please read on for reminders about Kristie’s case and see the bottom of the email for specific prayer points.
Dismissed for what someone might think
In October 2020, Employment Judge Reed ruled against her, rejecting Kristie’s claims for discrimination and harassment.
The ruling said that her beliefs are protected by the Equality Act – a significant improvement on some judgments that suggested that disagreeing with transgenderism is “not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”
However, it claimed that Kristie was dismissed because some of the content in the articles she linked to could lead someone to think that Kristie “was hostile towards the LBGT community, and trans people in particular”.
No one said that she is – all the evidence shows otherwise. But (the logic goes) someone could think this, and that could bring the school into disrepute, and therefore the school was allowed to dismiss Kristie.
Please pray for Kristie
Please pray for Kristie and her legal team ahead of the appeal:
- giving thanks for the stand that Kristie is making, standing up for Christians’ rights to express their concerns and Christian beliefs in the public sphere without the fear of losing their job. Pray for success in her case
- for the lawyers representing and supporting Kristie at the Employment Appeal Tribunal, particularly advocate Richard O’Dair and Pavel Stroilov who is supporting him. Pray that Richard will represent Kristie highly effectively
- for the judge, to properly consider all of the points in Kristie’s case. Pray for a successful and just ruling
- for Kristie and her family, for the Lord’s guidance and protection as this case goes forward
- for our media team as they tell the story to the press. Pray that we – and Kristie – would speak the truth with clarity and conviction.