Mark Jennings Loses Two Claims in Employment Tribunal
Mark Jennings lost his employment tribunal case after Employment Judge Daniel Wright dismissed his claims of indirect religious discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments over a Department for Work and Pensions job offer. Jennings had accepted a work coach role in June 2024 before raising demands about Pride imagery and colleagues using different pronouns.
Jennings and the DWP
Jennings later told the DWP he should not be subjected to Pride imagery at work or hear colleagues use different pronouns. He also said colleagues should be asked to remove Pride symbols, or that he should work from home during Pride Month.
The department refused to accommodate those demands. Jennings then turned the job down and tried to sue.
Daniel Wright's ruling
Wright dismissed the claims after hearing Jennings describe himself as 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”.
In his ruling, Wright said 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”.
Similar claims
The tribunal also heard that Jennings has filed similar cases against other organisations, including Stagecoach and NatWest. That record sat alongside this case as Wright rejected the idea that the DWP had to alter its workplace approach to match Jennings's requests.
For employees and employers, the practical result is narrow but direct: Jennings did not secure a ruling requiring the DWP to limit Pride displays or pronoun use, and the tribunal accepted the department's position over his objections.
His case ended with the tribunal drawing a line between his requested accommodation and the risk Wright said the department would face if it complied.
