John Murphy was dismissed after repeatedly failing to comply with senior staff members who told him to stop speaking about his faith to workers and members of the public during office hours. Mr. Murphy said the tenets of his religion required him to speak to people about Jesus and share the Gospel with them.
The complainant had been working as a civil engineer with a county council from December 2007 until his dismissal in June 2010. In May 2008, he was informed by the council’s human resources officer that a complaint had been received over him speaking about his faith in the office. He was told not to talk about religion during the working day, including during his lunch break.
Mr. Murphy said he found this particularly difficult as speaking to others about his faith was integral to the practice of his religion. In June 2008, he attended a disciplinary meeting to discuss a number of instances where he spoke about his religious beliefs to members of the public during working hours and his failure to comply with the direction of a senior member of staff. He was warned if he continued to disregard instructions from senior management and share his faith with people during normal working hours he would be sacked.
In August 2008, he left the office to check on the construction of a footpath. While doing so he met a man with a motorbike to whom he spoke about religion. This resulted in another disciplinary meeting and a final written warning. In June 2009, Mr. Murphy was suspended without pay for two months and was ordered to see a professional to help him with his compulsive behavior after he was spotted talking to a man outside a coffee shop about religion. In June 2010, the borough council manager informed Mr. Murphy that he was to be dismissed after speaking to a man working as a contractor at the council offices about Jesus.
Counsel for Mr. Murphy submitted that he was an evangelical Christian and that he sought to manifest his beliefs by sharing his faith with others and that this type of practice constituted a fundamental tenet of his belief system. It was argued that Mr. Murphy was not facilitated in the practice of his beliefs by the council and as a result of practicing them was accused of gross misconduct.
The council submitted that Mr. Murphy was not dismissed because of his religious beliefs but because he continually failed to comply with the directions of senior members of the council. The council also said declarations concerning human rights protect the right to hold a religious belief but that no right is absolute and unlimited.