One of the largest UK housing associations has agreed to pay substantial compensation to a former employee and Christian mayoral candidate after she was sacked for sharing her orthodox views on marriage online.
Maureen Martin, 56, was employed for 13 years by L&Q and dismissed in May 2022 after her election manifesto was shared online to local residents. The manifesto included her beliefs on marriage. She was sacked following complaints of hate speech, even though the manifesto was unconnected to her work.
Her dismissal letter said her views could be ‘perceived to be discriminatory, hurtful, and offensive views towards members of the LGBTQ+ community, non-traditional families, and abortion’.
L&Q agreed to settle her claim and pay substantial but undisclosed damages for unfair dismissal and discrimination. Martin described what she went through as ‘chilling’.
She said: ‘It is disturbing how Christian beliefs on marriage, which have been held and expressed for thousands of years, are being silenced and treated with such hostility.
‘I should have had a right to express my own Christian beliefs in my own private time and should not have been required to self-censor my beliefs or be forced out of my job.’
Martin expressed her refusal to be silent and said she intended standing again as mayoral candidate for Lewisham next year.
