Work, Witnessing and the Law: Freedom of Expression in the Workplace

As political correctness seems to have an increasing hold in our society, what can and can’t you say any more? How do the Human Rights Act and the European Convention on Human Rights interact with recent Equality laws? And what is direct and indirect discrimination?

Building on the recent Christians in Government Workshop with the Evangelical Alliance and Lawyers' Christian Fellowship, Simon Calvert, Deputy Director (Public Affairs) at the Christian Institute has agreed to do a special workshop for CIG members and supporters. Simon will look at some cases from recent years and explain that, despite the media and the prevailing political correctness, we do still have the right to express our Christian beliefs in the workplace.

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Simon Calvert has been with The Christian Institute since 1996, initially as Legal & Public Affairs Officer and, since 1998, as a Deputy Director. He qualified as a solicitor in 1996 and has applied his legal training to parliamentary campaigning and to helping Christians discriminated against because of their faith.

Simon led the Reform Section 5 free speech campaign, which successfully removed ‘insults’ from the scope of the Public Order Act 1986, as well as the Reform Clause 1 campaign which blocked Government plans to outlaw ‘annoying behaviour’. More recently he has been active in fighting the Scottish Government’s plans to impose a state guardian for every child under 18. He has also been involved in the legal case defending the owners of Ashers Baking Company, who declined to decorate a cake with the slogan “Support Gay Marriage”. Simon has worked closely with parliamentarians on legislation relating to child protection, marriage and the family, religious education and the equalities agenda. He also speaks for the Institute at public meetings throughout the UK and regularly provides comment to the press, TV and radio.