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Christian CEO wins religious discrimination claim
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Dear supporter,

I am very pleased to tell you that Kenneth Ferguson, the former CEO of The Robertson Trust, has won his case against his old employer. We supported Kenneth through our Legal Defence Fund.

Ruling in Kenneth’s favour, the Employment Tribunal found that he was a victim of religious discrimination and unfair dismissal at the hands of Scotland’s biggest grant-making trust and its Chair, Shonaig Macpherson.
Kenneth Ferguson

Kenneth, an elder at Stirling Free Church, had been CEO since 2011. But he was dismissed in March last year after Macpherson objected to his church renting Trust premises because it opposed same-sex marriage.

The Tribunal found Macpherson was “appalled” that the church had been allowed to meet on Trust premises and was so angry that her voice was shaking. The Tribunal highlighted Ms Macpherson’s reaction to the beliefs of the church about marriage as evidence of religious discrimination.

Given notice to terminate its agreement, the church was told its use of the premises did “not comply with Trust policy” against renting to organisations promoting religious or political views. But the Tribunal found that the Trust did not have any such written policy, and had rented space to Stonewall and other pro-same-sex marriage groups.

The Trust blamed Mr Ferguson for the agreement being made, despite him recusing himself from negotiations about the rental.

The Trust’s dismissal letter cited vague ‘performance issues’, even though Kenneth oversaw a doubling of the Trust’s giving and an increase in staffing from seven to 43 during his tenure. He also received eight out of ten from Macpherson herself in his 2019 appraisal.

Please join us in giving thanks to God for this ruling. It is a welcome re-statement of the principle, repeatedly upheld in cases we have fought, that belief in marriage between a man and a woman is protected by equality law and worthy of respect in a democratic society. This just outcome sounds a warning to those who think they can mistreat Christians in the workplace.

It is also yet another success for our Legal Defence Fund. Thank you to those who have given to this fund to enable us to fight cases like Kenneth’s. If you would like to donate to the Legal Defence Fund, click here ([link removed]) .

Yours in Christ,

Simon Calvert
Deputy Director (Public Affairs)
The Christian Institute


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