Tribunal backs school's handling of teacher's expression of religious views
An Anglican school was 'entitled' to manage how Christian views were expressed by a teacher in line with its values, a tribunal judge ruled.
Teacher Ben Dybowski, a Christian with Catholic beliefs, was dismissed having shared his views about same-sex marriage, abortion and Sharia law during a training event.
Mr Dybowski also told the headteacher during a follow-up meeting that he often expressed these views on social media.
His claims of harassment and direct discrimination related to his religious and protected beliefs were dismissed by an employment tribunal, with the judge saying the school could exercise a degree of control over how beliefs 'manifested' in accordance with its values.
The tribunal also ruled that his criticisms of Sharia law were an opinion and therefore not a protected belief.
In October 2022, Mr Dybowski began working as a teaching assistant at The Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales school, a co-educational comprehensive for 11-to-18-year-olds near Cardiff through an agency.
The school held a session delivered by Diverse Cymru Training on handling topics in March 2023, and Mr Dybowski asked the trainer about expressing personal beliefs and if they amounted to discrimination.
He said his view was that true marriage is a union between a man and a woman, that human life begins at conception and abortion is the taking of innocent human life and he was critical of some aspects of Sharia law, the tribunal heard.
The trainer said that the claimant was free to hold such views but that expressing them might be 'regarded as discrimination', the Cardiff tribunal was told.
Mr Dybowski had a meeting with headteacher Marc Belli the next day after other members of staff expressed concern about the views, the tribunal heard.
During the meeting, Mr Dybowski discussed his social media activity and how he often expresses his beliefs, including topics like same-sex marriage and Islam, the tribunal was told.
Mr Belli, reminded him of social media guidelines and the Education Workforce Council (EWC) regulations, explaining that expressing his views, when publicly expressed, could potentially harm students or staff, especially given the school's diverse community and values, the tribunal heard.
(The Bishop of Llandaff Church In Wales school) was entitled to want to exercise a degree of control over how beliefs were manifested within the school environment in accordance with the school's values given the potential power imbalance between teachers and pupils and in the context of potentially vulnerable pupils
Judge
Mr Dybowski is a self-confessed campaigner and debater and the evidence shows he quietly took opportunities to discuss his views with pupils and staff on a number of occasions, the tribunal was told.
The complainant was removed from the school.
Judge Samantha Moore said Mr Dybowski's views on marriage, abortion and gender amounted to protected beliefs but that his critical aspects of Sharia law were deemed an opinion and are not protected.
The judge said it was clear that Mr Belli wanted the claimant not to manifest the views in any way he had during the training event and found that 'none of what subsequently ensued was because the claimant held his particular beliefs'.
She said it was 'reasonable' for Mr Belli to have become very concerned and reach a conclusion that he could not trust that Mr Dybowski would refrain from inappropriate discussions with pupils.
The judge added: 'The claimant has a right to hold his beliefs and to manifest them but he is under the same prohibitions as the rest of society to not discriminate or harass others.
'Every circumstance turns on the particular facts of the claim.
'(The Bishop of Llandaff Church In Wales school) was entitled to want to exercise a degree of control over how beliefs were manifested within the school environment in accordance with the school's values given the potential power imbalance between teachers and pupils and in the context of potentially vulnerable pupils.'
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