Christian nursery worker: Ruling shows I'm not anti-gay

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-33049535

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A Christian nursery worker who won a tribunal case after being sacked for her views on homosexuality has said the ruling shows she is not "anti-gay".

Sarah Mbuyi was dismissed from Newpark Childcare nursery in west London for telling a colleague "God is not OK with what you do".

An employment tribunal ruled she was discriminated against on the basis of her religious beliefs.

The nursery says it has "robust processes" to ensure it is inclusive.

'God doesn't hate you'

Ms Mbuyi - who was dismissed in January 2014 three days after making the comment to her colleague - told the Victoria Derbyshire programme she is not homophobic.

She explained that when her colleague asked her whether God would approve of her lesbian relationship, she first assured her that "God doesn't hate you", before adding he would not condone her actions.

She also doubted her colleague's surprise at the response given her religious education. "It's not like she didn't know about the Bible's ethics," she said.

Ms Mbuyi had been working at Newpark Childcare in Shepherd's Bush, west London, for nine months before being dismissed on the grounds of harassment, and said she considered her colleague in question to be a friend.

Her treatment, she said, was comparable to the views of wider society towards Christianity in the UK.

"The word of God is made more and more irrelevant to society in general. Society endorses ideologies that are absolutely contrary to his word," she said.

"If people like me and other Christians choose to stand by, we will face hostility."

'Misconstrued'

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern and head of the Christian Legal Centre, said she receives phone calls daily from people struggling to live out their religious beliefs.

She cited comparable cases in which teachers and nurses have faced disciplinary action for offering prayer to children and patients.

She added: "What we're finding often [is that] a simple statement of comfort can often be misconstrued, and people find themselves in the situation [Ms Mbuyi] has."

"For simply having the view... that certain behaviours are sinful, [people believe] that actually makes us bigoted and hateful. When actually the opposite is true. Sarah was full of love and compassion for her colleague."

The tribunal ruled that Newpark Childcare was "not anti-Christian", although it said the decision to sack her may have been made on "stereotypical assumptions about her and her beliefs".

It is a view with which Ms Mbuyi agrees: "There were other Christians employed there, and there was never any campaign against them," she said.

The tribunal also ruled that Ms Mbuyi's belief was "worthy of respect in a democratic society, is not incompatible with human dignity and is not in conflict with the fundamental rights of others".

Tiffany Clutterbuck, director of Newpark Childcare, said in a statement that the nursery has "robust policies and rules in place to ensure our nursery is inclusive and supportive for our children and staff, and we took the decision to dismiss Ms Mbuyi with a view to protecting that culture."

"We are reviewing the decision of the employment tribunal panel with our legal team before deciding our next steps."

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