Quoting the well-known Bible verse John 3:16 could be ‘triggering’ to National Health Service users, an employment tribunal has been told.
The astonishing claim was made by an NHS recruiter in an attempt to justify why a Christian, Felix Ngole, was denied a social worker job.
Ngole has taken his case to an employment tribunal, claiming he has been denied a job simply because of his Christian beliefs.
In May 2022, Ngole had been recruited for a job as a mental health support worker via Touchstone Support, Leeds, which recruits on behalf of the NHS.
However, his career was put in jeopardy after it became known that Ngole had won a previous case relating to a Facebook post he had written in 2015, in which he defended biblical marriage.
A senior member of staff at Touchstone Support Leeds said that sharing the belief that there are only two genders could ‘lead to death’, and that sharing verses such as John 3:16 could be triggering for a member of the LGBT community.
He was told by Touchstone bosses that unless he could demonstrate how he would ‘embrace and promote homosexual rights’, the job offer would be withdrawn.
