Christian man who claimed he had ‘phobia of Pride flags’ loses discrimination case
A Christian man claimed he had a phobia of Pride flags (Getty Images)
A Christian man who sued the government after claiming he had a phobia of Pride flags has lost his religious discrimination case.
Mark Jennings accepted a job as a work coach with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in June 2024, but began making “unreasonable demands” when receiving the offer over the phone.
These included not being subjected to Pride imagery or hearing colleagues “using different pronouns” at work. When the DWP refused, he turned the job down, then tried to sue.
A Roman Catholic and evangelical Christian, Jennings said his faith meant “gender ideology and the promotion of ‘trans ideology’ caused him great anxiety”, and that “homosexuality and transgenderism is a sin contrary to the laws of God”.
He also said that colleagues should be asked to remove Pride symbols, or that he work from home during Pride Month, according to the Daily Mail.
The DWP said it could not accommodate this, as staff had the right to express support for Pride.
Employment Judge Daniel Wright dismissed his claims of indirect religious discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Wright said that restricting employees’ Pride displays “would leave the [DWP] open to claims of direct or indirect sexual orientation discrimination, harassment and direct or indirect belief discrimination”.
The tribunal heard he has filed similar cases against other organisations, including Stagecoach and NatWest.
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