Demoted Christian's court win
A Christian who was demoted from his job at Trafford Housing Trust after making comments about gay marriage has won a breach of contract court case.
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Demoted Christian wins gay marriage court battle
A Christian who was demoted for posting his opposition to gay marriage on Facebook has won his breach of contract legal action.
Read the full story'Full and sincere' apology from Trafford Housing Trust
The chief executive of Trafford Housing Trust says the trust has made a 'full and sincere' apology to an employee who was demoted and given a final written warning after he expressed his opposition to gay marriage.
"We fully accept the court's decision and I have made a full and sincere apology to Adrian. At the time we believed we were taking the appropriate action following discussions with our employment solicitors and taking into account his previous disciplinary record.
"We have always vigorously denied allegations that the Trust had breached an employee's rights to freedom of religious expression under Human Rights and Equalities legislation and, in a written judgment handed down on 21st March 2012, a district judge agreed that these matters should be struck out.
– Matthew Gardiner, Trafford Housing Trust chief executive"This has been a case about the interpretation of our code of conduct and the use of social media by our managers.
"This case has highlighted the challenges that businesses face with the increased use of social media and we have reviewed our documentation and procedures to avoid a similar situation arising in the future. Adrian remains employed by the Trust and I am pleased this matter has now concluded."
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Full judgement in demoted Christian case
The Judicial Office twitter feed (@JudiciaryUK) has just Tweeted a link to the full judgement in the demoted Christian case. You can find it here: bit.ly/S221ar
Christian in gay marriage case 'fearful of more cases'
A Christian who won a breach of contract court case after he was demoted for expressing his opposition to gay marriage says he fears there will be more court cases if 'marriage is redefined'.
– Adrian Smith“I have won today. But what will tomorrow bring? I am fearful that, if marriage is redefined, there will be more cases like mine – and if the law of marriage changes people like me may not win in court.
“Does the Prime Minister want to create a society where people like me, people who believe in traditional marriage, are treated as outcasts? That may not be his intention, but that’s what will happen.
“The Prime Minister should think very carefully about the impact of redefining marriage on ordinary people."
Demoted Christian wins gay marriage legal fight
A Christian Housing Manager who was demoted from his post at Trafford Housing Trust (THT) after saying gay weddings in churches would be "an equality too far" has won a court case.
Adrian Smith had his salary cut by 40% and given a final written warning after making the comment on Facebook.
He started breach of contract proceedings against THT, saying the trust acted unlawfully in demoting him.
His comments were not visible to the general public, and were posted outside work time, but the trust said he broke its code of conduct by expressing religious or political views which might upset co-workers.
Today High Court Judge Mr Justice Biggs ruled in his favour.