School chaplain loses unfair dismissal case over LGBT sermon

A chaplain who criticised his school's plan to promote LGBT inclusivity has lost his unfair dismissal case.

Rev Bernard Randall was made redundant from his role at Trent College in Derbyshire after delivering sermons telling pupils they did not have to accept "LGBT stuff".

The 50-year-old took the school to an employment tribunal but it rejected his claim.

The school welcomed the decision and said it was an inclusive community.

Employment judge Victoria Butler, who heard evidence from Rev Randall and senior school staff during a three-week hearing, dismissed the clergyman's claim he was "sacked" by the school after he twice delivered a sermon called Competing Ideologies in chapel services.

The chaplain had disagreed with senior staff, at the fee-paying boarding college in Long Eaton, over proposals to implement a programme drawn up by charity Educate and Celebrate (E&C) arguing it was incompatible with the school's Christian ethos.

He said he believed parts of E&C were Marxist, revolutionary and atheist and used the sermon, in June 2019, to tell pupils as young as 11: "You do not have to accept the ideas of LGBT activists".

The sermon triggered complaints from some pupils, parents and staff members, who said it nearly left them in tears.

The tribunal heard a common theme of the complaints was the message appeared to be that it was wrong to be LGBT and okay to discriminate.

The tribunal had heard Rev Randall believed marriage was a union between a man and a woman and sex outside marriage was "morally problematic".

The school also referred the matter to Prevent, the government's anti-extremism programme, which found there was "no counter terrorism risk, or risk of radicalisation" in Rev Randall's message.

He was suspended then dismissed but reinstated on appeal and given a final written warning.

He was then furloughed during the 2020 coronavirus lockdown before being made redundant later in the year.

The judge said the school's redundancy process was genuine and reasonable as it looked to save money to deal with the economic impact of coronavirus rather than to victimise the chaplain.

She added: "We saw and heard no evidence that came anywhere close to supporting the claimant's view that E&C would indoctrinate pupils in such a way."

She said Rev Randall's referral to Prevent had been justified "from a safeguarding perspective".

Mrs Butler also rejected Rev Randall's claims for discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

He said he was extremely disappointed to lose and would appeal against the decision.

"It is a personal blow, but more importantly, it is a blow for all those who believe in freedom of speech, in freedom of religion, and in an educational system which opens the minds of young people rather than narrowing them or imposing an ideology that many or most in our society find troubling.

"It is a foundational principle of a truly democratic society that the free exchange of ideas is good for everyone," he said.

A Trent College spokesperson said: "We welcome the judgement and the closure of this lengthy and challenging process.

"Trent College is an inclusive community where we are proud of our commitment to support the wellbeing of everyone.

"We want every single pupil to be safe and feel understood here.

"We would like to express our gratitude to everyone involved in supporting us through this challenging period which has culminated in this positive outcome."

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