They Took His Job Because He Believes the Bible. He Just Won.

Christian Social Worker Felix Ngole Wins Employment Appeal After Job Offer Was Withdrawn Over Biblical Marriage Beliefs

Felix Ngole, a Christian social worker in the United Kingdom, has won a major victory at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) after a mental health charity withdrew his job offer because of his publicly stated beliefs about marriage and sexuality.

Touchstone Leeds, an NHS provider and mental health charity, had offered Ngole a position but rescinded the offer after discovering his past public statements affirming Biblical teaching on marriage. The charity claimed that LGBTQI+ service users might find his views online and experience distress.

The original Employment Tribunal acknowledged that Ngole had been discriminated against but ruled the charity's actions were justified on safeguarding grounds. The EAT overturned that decision on 16 February 2026, ruling that the discrimination was "not capable of justification."

I am pleased to see the Employment Appeal Tribunal recognise that I should not have been refused this job solely because people might discover my mainstream Christian beliefs online.

Felix Ngole said in response to the ruling.

This is not the first time Ngole has faced persecution for his faith. In 2019, he won a landmark Court of Appeal case against the University of Sheffield, which had expelled him for Facebook comments about Biblical sexual ethics. That court ruled: "The mere expression of religious views about sin does not necessarily connote discrimination."

During the original tribunal, Dave Pickard, Head of Operations at Touchstone Leeds, claimed that even quoting John 3:16 could be "triggering" for service users and that expressing disagreement with same sex marriage "could lead to death."

UK Employment Tribunal Rules Christians Cannot Be Denied Jobs Over Biblical Beliefs

Andrea Minichiello Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which supported Ngole's case, declared:

The ruling makes clear what should always have been obvious. There can be no excuse for discriminating Christians in the workplace because members of the public might discover their protected beliefs online.

The case has been sent back to the Employment Tribunal for reconsideration of certain aspects. Ngole has indicated he plans to appeal parts of the EAT ruling with which he disagrees.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let this sink in: a man was told he could not work with vulnerable people because he believes what the Bible says about marriage. The employer argued that quoting John 3:16 could "lead to death." That is not safeguarding. That is ideological tyranny wrapped in the language of compassion. Felix Ngole has now won two major court battles for the right to simply be a Christian in public. The fact that he had to fight at all tells you everything about the state of religious freedom in the West. If a Muslim social worker quoted the Quran on marriage, would Touchstone Leeds have rescinded the offer? We already know the answer.

Take Action

• Support the Christian Legal Centre which funded and argued this case for Felix Ngole
• Share this story on social media to raise awareness about workplace discrimination against Christians in the UK
• Write to your MP demanding stronger protections for religious belief in employment law
• Donate to The Shepherd's Shield to support persecuted Christians around the world
• Pray for Felix Ngole and his family as the case returns to the Employment Tribunal for further proceedings