A Christian social worker was discriminated against by being made to attend a second job interview over his religious beliefs on homosexuality, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Felix Ngole, from Barnsley, attended an initial interview with the Touchstone Leeds mental health charity in 2022 for a job in a hospital in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Touchstone retracted a job offer a month later after learning about news articles relating to a previous court case Ngole had been involved in.

Discussing a decision by Touchstone to make Ngole attend a second interview, Ngole's barrister Bruno Quintavalle told the Court of Appeal: "It is a very straightforward matter of direct discrimination."

He told the hearing on Monday: "The requirement to have a second interview, which arose simply from the respondent discovering that Mr Ngole held a protected characteristic, in this case a belief, then meant they imposed upon him requirements that were not imposed on anyone else."

The previous court case involved Ngole's successful legal challenge against the University of Sheffield over its decision to expel him from an MA course for comments he made on social media in 2015 stating that "homosexuality is a sin".

Touchstone told Ngole that his views on homosexuality "completely go against" its views, but offered to reconsider its position if he could give assurances that his beliefs would not compromise his role.

After a second interview, the employer declined to give Ngole the role - writing in a letter that his views would pose a "significant risk" to Touchstone's users who may find the comments "upsetting and offensive".

In 2024, an employment tribunal (ET) ruled that Touchstone directly discriminated against Ngole by rescinding the initial job offer, but rejected further claims of discrimination around the second interview and the final decision not to give him the job.

In February, an employment appeal tribunal (EAT) judge found that the 2024 tribunal had "erred in law" in some respects.

Ngole is now appealing against the EAT's decision to send the case back to the ET for reconsideration.

Quintavalle told the court the job description contained "simply nothing" about LGBT issues and his client had never been the subject of a complaint.

Touchstone is also appealing against the EAT's decision, arguing that the initial ET ruling should be restored or that it "should be entitled to a fair opportunity" to argue its case at a fresh ET hearing.

Katherine Apps KC, representing the employer, said it declined to offer Ngole the job due to a "lack of enthusiasm" for what the company "wished to see in the role, including actively promoting LGBTQI+ specific service and specifically tailoring services to the needs of LGBTQI+ service users".

She said Ngole showed "resistance" to attending LGBT awareness training and that there was a "risk of complaints or claims" against the company by service users.

The barrister also said that the company conducted online searches about Ngole over a lack of suitable references.

The hearing before Lord Justice Bean, Lord Justice Miles and Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing will conclude on Tuesday, with a judgment expected in writing at a later date.

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