Teacher fired over comments on abortion and Sharia law not unfairly dismissed, tribunal finds
A teaching assistant who was fired over comments on same-sex marriage, abortion and Sharia law was not unfairly dismissed, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Ben Dybowski claimed his dismissal from an Anglican school in Cardiff was discriminatory against his protected beliefs.
Mr Dybowski, who is a Catholic and describes himself as a "campaigner", made the comments at a staff training session on 23 March 2023 provided by Diverse Cymru Training.
He asked whether expressing his personal views could be considered discrimination - and went on to give examples, including that true marriage is a union between a man and a woman, human life begins at conception and saying he was critical of some aspects of Sharia law.
Judge Moore found the claimant had "a right to hold his beliefs" but was "under the same prohibitions as the rest of society to not discriminate or harass others".
She also found the 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".
The judge ruled that Mr Dybowski's views on Sharia law were an opinion, rather than a protected belief.
The day after the training event, the headteacher at The Bishop of Llandaff High School told Mr Dybowski he did not want those views shared while he worked at the school, after "a number of staff expressed concern".
Mr Dybowski told headteacher Mr Belli that he had "regularly expressed" such views on social media.
The headteacher reminded him of social media guidelines and the Education Workforce Council (EWC) regulations, explaining that expressing his views in a public forum could potentially harm students or staff, especially given the school's diverse community and values, the tribunal heard.
Mr Dybowski quietly took opportunities to discuss his views with pupils and staff on a number of occasions, the tribunal was told.
The judge said it was "reasonable" for Mr Belli to have become very concerned and concluded that he could not trust that Mr Dybowski would refrain from inappropriate discussions with pupils.
Mr Dybowski was recruited through an employment agency, which referred him to the EWC.
He was dismissed on 25 May 2023. The claimant raised a grievance and asserted his dismissal was discriminatory because of his "religion, i.e. 'protected characteristics' under the Equality Act".
Mr Dybowski's claims of harassment and direct discrimination related to his religious and protected beliefs were dismissed, 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.
An independent investigation was commissioned and, when interviewed, Mr Dybowski accepted the views expressed were "controversial" but that he had been told the training was a "safe space".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
UK equalities watchdog: Transgender people may be asked about gender status in workplace
Transgender people may be asked about their gender status in the workplace, the equalities watchdog has said, with its chair arguing people should 'distinguish between rights in law, and a preference for things to be a certain way'. Giving evidence to the women and equalities select committee, the chair and chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said trans people should not be fearful of the repercussions of April's supreme court ruling, which found the word 'woman' in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman. However, when asked about a series of scenarios in which the ruling might practically affect trans people's lives, both said formal guidance was currently being drawn up. The EHRC's interim advice, published shortly after the court decision, set out that transgender people should not be allowed to use toilets of the gender they live as, and that in some cases they also cannot use toilets of their birth sex. Asked what she would say to trans people who felt they had lost rights, Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the EHRC chair, replied: 'We protect their rights under the law as they exist, and we also have done so and will continue to do so. But I think you have to distinguish between rights in law, and a preference for things to be a certain way.' Christine Jardine, the Liberal Democrat MP, pushed Falkner and the EHRC's chief executive, John Kirkpatrick, on how trans people's privacy could be protected in workplaces and socially 'if they are going to be identified because they cannot use certain facilities'. Kirkpatrick said the watchdog hoped to provide 'some appropriate guidance about how, respectfully, questions can be asked in the workplace or in services, and so on and so forth, in such a way as to respect privacy and dignity as far as is possible'. Asked if this would not still imperil people's privacy, Falkner said that rights under article 8 of the Human Rights Act, connected to privacy, would not apply in such a case. Quizzed about how the changed rules about toilet use could be implemented, Falkner said it would primarily be about the 'social contract', adding: 'We are not talking about people with badges coming along to enforce anything.' In another exchange, Falkner, who has been criticised by transgender groups for leading an organisation they argue is insufficiently protective of their rights, said almost all the abuse in the debate came from transgender people and their backers. 'One of the thing that one notices is that the vast majority of that part of our population, which is particularly the women and girls part … the vast majority of those people who felt disadvantaged or felt the law was not supporting them did so in a dignified, respectful manner, frequently using the last resort of a tribunal or a court,' she said. 'Let's be clear. This supreme court ruling only covers 8,464 people, the holders of GRCs [gender recognition certificates]. So in terms of changing things at all, those are the people affected. But the level of agitation that they can cause in terms of personal attacks, libellous attacks, defamation, where our family members are affected, our intimate family members have to think about how they are going about their place of work and so on, has got to stop.'
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Some Queer facts about the use of data
In Scotland, the issue is urgent as major institutions – including the Scottish Government's Chief Statistician and Police Scotland – are reviewing their approach to gender, sex and sexuality data. Other institutions, including NHS Scotland and public funding bodies, will soon likely follow. In April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that "sex" in the 2010 Equality Act exclusively relates to "biological sex" or a person's sex at birth – forcing many organisations, which are required to record data for equalities monitoring, to rethink their approach to data. Over the past decade, anti-trans campaigners have also gained momentum, pushing to erase trans people from law, policy and data – most notably, a failed 2022 legal challenge against National Records of Scotland demanding a change in how trans people are counted in the national census. Against this backdrop, we have brought together 40 leading policymakers, researchers, community leaders and industry practitioners – from diverse sectoral backgrounds – all working with gender, sex and sexuality data. The purpose for the summit is not to instruct attendees how to collect this data – as approaches will differ according to sector and industry, depending on the topic being investigated. Instead, we hope to share common challenges, reflect on data experiences, and build dialogue and solidarity with people working across different roles and sectors. There's a lot more to gender, sex and sexuality data than the question "Who counts as a woman?" We want attendees to ask: what does numerical data not tell us when exploring the nuance of people's lives? What do you do with people who do not fit the boxes made available? Should we move away from always trying to "plug data gaps" and locate "missing data"? In 2022, Scotland's census reported that 4.0% of the population aged 16 and over identified as LGB+ and 0.4% identified as trans or as having a trans history. While the publication of these percentages was trailblazing – Scotland is one of very few countries in the world to ask about sexual orientation and trans/gender identity in the national census – they do not mean that data practices fully capture the diversity of people's experiences. Furthermore, collecting data about a community is only the first step – insights from this data then needs to inform action that impacts people's material, everyday lives. We hope that the summit sparks connections among attendees – whether working in government, tech, health or higher education – and encourages people to think beyond the checkbox when working with gender, sex and sexuality data. Dr Kevin Guyan is the Director of the University of Edinburgh's Gender + Sexuality Data Lab and author of Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025). Dr Chase Ledin is a Lecturer in Social Science and Medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- The Herald Scotland
Constance defends Police Scotland sex and gender policy
Last weekend, in The Herald on Sunday, a senior Police Scotland source accused the force of creating a 'culture of fear', where staff felt unable to raise concerns about how to record the sex of transgender suspects. READ MORE: The whistleblower claimed that officers were being instructed to search and record individuals 'as they present', even though no formal policy to that effect appeared to exist. She warned this could result in rapes committed by men being recorded as having been carried out by women — a scenario she described as 'unbelievable' and deeply traumatic for victims. On Tuesday, Scottish Labour MSP Pauline McNeill raised The Herald on Sunday's report in Holyrood, saying there was 'clear confusion' in the force due to the lack of official guidance. 'Many staff say they have to record someone — and indeed search them — based on how they present, even if that is the moment of arrest,' she said. 'It appears there is no official guidance, so staff are left to navigate sensitive and legally significant decisions without it.' She asked the Cabinet Secretary whether she was not 'concerned about the apparent lack of clarity being experienced by officers on the front line about how to record the sex and gender of suspected serious sexual offenders.' Ms Constance said: 'I do believe that there currently is clarity.' She also pointed to the comment given to The Herald on Sunday by the force, which said the whistleblower's account was 'inaccurate and misleading.' Ms McNeill said the force had offered contradictory explanations. While Chief Constable Jo Farrell told the Scottish Police Authority in September last year there was a clear approach, she said in a letter to her and in press reports, they had 'indicated since then that there is no set policy on how to record sex and gender of individuals.' The force is reviewing how it records sex and gender, and the Justice Secretary said this would take full account of the UK Supreme Court's landmark ruling on the definition of 'sex' in the Equality Act — which confirmed it means biological sex. Ms McNeill urged the Cabinet Secretary to engage directly with the force: 'Surely she must have a discussion now with Police Scotland about how they are recording sex when it comes to sexual crime, and that there is clarity for police officers on the front line?' Ms Constance replied that the Chief Constable had already given clear public assurances, and that Police Scotland would also consider forthcoming guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which is currently under review. Tess White, the Conservative MSP for North East Scotland, accused Police Scotland of 'kicking the can down the road.' 'The force provided assurances to the Scottish Police Authority that the timeline for review does not preclude any immediate improvements identified and required to internal practice or policy, and that is in stark contrast with the meeting the Cabinet Secretary herself held with the Chief Constable on 30 April in which she emphasised that Police Scotland must await EHRC guidance on the Supreme Court ruling. 'Will her government now get off the fence and finally issue an urgent directive to public bodies to comply with the law and put an end to this mess?' Ms Constance said ministers were already taking action by working to ensure public services would be in a 'state of readiness' to respond to the EHRC guidance when it is finalised. READ MORE Speaking after the debate, Ms McNeill said she found the minister's answer 'disappointing.' 'The Government is responsible for this confusion — it is too important for them to leave to another review. If they support my view on data that the sex of the offender should be recorded then they should act to clear up the confusion.' Fraser Hudghton, from the Free Speech Union, said: 'The Justice Secretary's response in Parliament does not cut it. She is either being misinformed by the leadership at Police Scotland who have lost all control, or she is playing fast and loose with the facts. 'We know from serving officers and staff that police leadership are in thrall to 'woke' policies that originated from the SNP Government, regardless of what that means for data collection or the effective prosecution of criminals. It has to stop.' A spokesperson for Police Scotland previously told The Herald on Sunday: 'It is inaccurate and misleading to suggest a male accused of rape would be recorded as a woman. It is inaccurate and misleading to suggest female officers and members of staff are coerced into carrying out intimate searches on male prisoners.'
