Christian Concern has launched a new petition, addressed to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Dr Thérèse Coffey, asking the government to protect the rights of workers to be able to express legal speech outside of work without the risk of losing their job.
Please sign and share the petition.
Did you know that you can be sacked for expressing Christian beliefs outside work?
Maureen Martin, a woman campaigning to become a mayor in London, was fired from her job because she told voters in an election leaflet that she believed marriage is between one man and one woman.
Maureen Martin was accused of gross misconduct and sacked after one of the UK’s largest housing associations, London & Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q), claimed her campaign pledge to promote natural marriage was “discriminatory” and would offend gay and trans people.
The case is believed to be the first of its kind to see a political candidate sacked by their employer for their Christian beliefs.
Before her sacking, Maureen had worked for L&Q as a housing manager for 13 years with an unblemished record and had good relationships with LGBT colleagues and service users.
We believe people should be free to share their deeply-held beliefs outside work without fear of losing their job.
That is why we’re supporting Maureen as she takes legal action against L&Q on the grounds of discrimination, harassment, indirect discrimination, and unfair dismissal.
Lawyers at the Christian Legal Centre will argue that her dismissal was in breach of her right to political speech under Articles 9 and 10 of the ECHR and that her dismissal was “outside the band of reasonable responses” in all the circumstances of the case.
However, we need to ensure what has happened to Maureen doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Please sign this petition to Dr Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to protect free speech for employees, like Maureen, and ensure nobody is forced to self-censor their conscientiously held beliefs out of fear of losing their job.
Find out more about Maureen Martin