Teacher Wins Settlement After Being Fired For Street Preaching, Pressured To Renounce Christian Activity

Teacher Wins Settlement After Being Fired For Street Preaching, Pressured To Renounce Christian Activity

Christian Concern

A Christian teaching assistant has won a £7,000 legal settlement from a school in Leeds after he was sacked for street preaching in his spare time.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Mr Andy Nix, 65, took legal action against Temple Moor High School in Leeds after he was sacked without notice for taking part in street preaching in Leeds City Centre.

Mr Nix claimed that the headmaster of the school and the teaching agency Prospero Teaching had discriminated against him for expressing his Christian beliefs.

A handful of ‘hearsay’ complaints from students to the headmaster, Matthew West, claiming they felt ‘unsafe’ because Mr Nix was a street preacher was enough to see him sacked on the spot.

Without prior notice, Mr Nix was hauled to the headteacher’s office and interrogated at length by the headteacher and another member of staff. During the interrogation, Mr Nix said he was made to feel like a criminal. He was summarily dismissed and told to immediately leave the school premises.

Following his dismissal, he lodged a claim against the school in the Employment Tribunal. Instead of facing trial, the school decided to settle the case and pay Mr Nix £7,000 in compensation.

On 6 July 2021, Mr Nix, who has been a Christian for 42 years and qualified as a teacher in 2006, was preaching in the Briggate area of Leeds City Centre.

Another evangelist, Dave McConnell, was also preaching and had responded to a series of questions from members of the public about what the Bible says about LGBT relationships, but Mr Nix did not.

During the preaching, members of the public had assaulted, verbally abused and stolen property from the preachers, but the police took no action.

Mr Nix said assaults from members of the public and two-tier policing has become the norm for street preachers.

Mr McConnell was subsequently arrested, prosecuted and forced to do community service for calling a biological male who self-identified as a woman, a man. He was later vindicated in court with all charges dismissed by the Crown Court.

During Mr Nix’s preaching, he told the story of his life before becoming a Christian. He did not use any threatening or abusive words and he remained calm despite hostility from members of the public.

Throughout the interrogation, Mr Nix felt that he was being pressurised to renounce his Christian beliefs or face losing his job.

Despite the case being settled, Mr Nix believes the sacking has prevented him from being able to get a permanent teaching job.

He said: “I was shocked and amazed that the headteacher could do what he did. He made me feel like a criminal; his aim was to bully and humiliate me into renouncing my Christian activity. I believe if I had renounced it, I could have kept my job.  

“The school trampled over my freedom of expression and belief. I am pleased that they agreed to settle the case which I believe was a recognition of wrongdoing.

“It is, however, a worrying sign if Christians are not allowed to debate, preach and express their faith in public without fear of losing their livelihoods.

“The impact on my life was considerable. I feared for the future, my family finances and it impacted the potential for me to get a permanent full-time role.

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “This is a clear example of employer overreach. The classroom and security of jobs cannot be weaponised against teaching staff who are Christians and publicly express their beliefs.

“The idea that a Christian can be sacked because a pupil says they feel ‘unsafe’ over Christian preaching outside school is ludicrous and deeply concerning.

“We can’t live in a world where the students call the shots and headteachers are forced to comply or be labelled bigoted.

“What we have seen in Leeds City Centre over recent years is another example of two-tier policing. The preachers exercising their freedom and legal rights are assaulted and arrested, while members of the public who act aggressively are allowed to act with impunity in shutting down free speech by any means.

“More must be done to protect street preachers in Leeds and no Christian employees must be discriminated against for expressing their Christian faith in public in their own time.”

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