{"id":11166,"date":"2025-04-04T01:47:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T01:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=11166"},"modified":"2026-07-03T14:20:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T14:20:28","slug":"media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-b5fc8583 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7fc3d43a wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:70%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile lnrs-hide-block-on-desktop is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-b15f4bf2 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p class=\"\">Written by: <\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500;\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-396749221673b8ac7695565b15cd4cd4 wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/author\/stephen-simpson\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Stephen Simpson<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-b15f4bf2 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group lnrs-hide-block-on-desktop is-content-justification-right is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-89f4e36b wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-left:10px\">\n<p style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\" class=\"\">Share<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"addtoany_shortcode\"><div class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_28 addtoany_list\" data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/\" data-a2a-title=\"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor\u2019s School?\"><a class=\"a2a_button_linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"LinkedIn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a class=\"a2a_button_x\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"X\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"Facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a class=\"a2a_button_email\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"Email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The Court of Appeal has been making the headlines after it found in Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School and others that a Christian school assistant&#8217;s dismissal for social media posts expressing opposition to the ideas of transgenderism, gender fluidity and same-sex marriage was discriminatory. But did the headlines capture the essence of the court&#8217;s ruling?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">In this high-profile case, the Court of Appeal accepted that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-brightmine-list-item-spacing-small\">\n<li class=\"\">The teaching assistant&#8217;s beliefs that gender is binary and same-sex marriage cannot be equated with marriage between a man and a woman are protected beliefs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Even if the school fundamentally disagreed with the content of the posts, the dismissal was &#8220;unquestionably a disproportionate response&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Some parties &#8211; including those with a vested interest such as Christian Concern &#8211; have interpreted the decision as being a &#8220;victory for free speech&#8221; that makes &#8220;ideological censorship illegal&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">While this is true up to a point, the practical implications of the Court of Appeal ruling are more nuanced than that. The Court of Appeal has certainly made it clear that an employee&#8217;s blunt expression of an honest and deeply held belief is not automatically a ground for dismissal, even if most (or all) of the people in the workplace find the beliefs distasteful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-alabaster-gray-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-80fb368b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<p class=\"\">There was no evidence that the reputation of the School had thus far been damaged: its concern was about potential damage in the future&#8230; As it also accepted, there was no possibility that, even if readers of the posts associated the Claimant with the School, they would believe that they represented its own views&#8230;. Even if readers of the posts might fear that the Claimant would let her views influence her work, neither the panel nor the ET believed that she would do so. There was no reason to doubt her assertion that&nbsp;her concern was specifically about the content of sex education in primary schools; that she &#8220;wouldn&#8217;t bring this into school&#8221;; and that she would never treat gay or trans pupils differently&#8230; There had indeed been no complaints about any aspect of her work for over six years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"higgs-v-farmors\">Judgment in&nbsp;<em>Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School and others<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">However, in light of the&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Higgs-v-Farmors-School.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School and others<\/a>&nbsp;<\/em>case,&nbsp;deciding where disciplinary action is justified when the manifestation of an employee&#8217;s beliefs may be regarded as objectionable remains difficult for employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Although a non-binding first-instance decision, the subsequent employment tribunal decision in&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/employment-tribunal-decisions\/mr-b-dybowski-v-the-bishop-of-llandaff-church-in-wales-high-school-1601681-slash-2023-and-1601682-slash-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dybowski v The Bishop of Llandaff Church In Wales High School<\/a><\/em>&nbsp;provides a useful example where the employer was found to be justified in dismissing an employee for expressing his strong views on a variety of controversial subjects at various times during an internal diversity training session, with colleagues in meetings and on social media. In this case, the Christian teaching assistant&#8217;s stated beliefs included that:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-brightmine-list-item-spacing-small\">\n<li class=\"\">A true marriage can only be between a man and a woman.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Human life begins at conception and abortion is the taking of innocent life and\/or the murder of innocent life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Sex is fixed and gender fluidity does not exist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-alabaster-gray-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-80fb368b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<p class=\"\">This Tribunal recognises the challenges faced when balancing the competing rights of different groups and in particular in a school environment. The claimant has a right to hold his beliefs and to manifest them but he is under the same prohibitions as the rest of society to not discriminate or harass others. Every circumstance turns on the particular facts of the claim. The first respondent was entitled to want to exercise a degree of control over how beliefs were manifested within the school environment in accordance with the school&#8217;s values given the potential power imbalance between teachers and pupils and in the context of potentially vulnerable pupils.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"dybowski-b-the-bishop-of-llandaff-church\">Judgment in Dybowski v The Bishop of Llandaff Church In Wales High School<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The employment tribunal stressed that, while the teaching assistant was entitled to freedom of expression, that entitlement is qualified &#8211; he is &#8220;under the same prohibitions as the rest of society to not discriminate or harass others&#8221;. The tribunal accepted the employer&#8217;s evidence that staff had become gravely concerned about the way in which he had expressed his views, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">the highly charged language that he had used, such as references to &#8220;true marriage&#8221; in the context of same-sex marriages and &#8220;murder&#8221; in the context of the abortion debate;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">alarm at how the expression of his beliefs might impact on the school&#8217;s values, especially given that he had admitted that he was a &#8220;campaigner and debater&#8221; who is very active on social media;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">a reasonable concern that he might seek to influence pupils in the expression of his beliefs, especially given that he had previously tried to set up a debating club at the school and pupils could find out about his social media activities with ease; and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">his apparent lack of awareness of the school&#8217;s social media guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Rejecting the claims for religion or belief discrimination, the employment tribunal concluded that the school could exercise a degree of control over how the teaching assistant manifested his beliefs, in accordance with its values.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column lnrs-hide-block-on-mobile is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"border-left-color:var(--wp--preset--color--secondary-gray);border-left-width:2px;padding-left:10px;flex-basis:30%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained wp-container-1 is-position-sticky\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a2154df2 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-left:10px\">\n<p style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\" class=\"\">Share<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"addtoany_shortcode\"><div class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_28 addtoany_list\" data-a2a-url=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/\" data-a2a-title=\"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor\u2019s School?\"><a class=\"a2a_button_linkedin\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"LinkedIn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a class=\"a2a_button_x\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"X\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"Facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a class=\"a2a_button_email\" href=\"https:\/\/www.addtoany.com\/add_to\/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brightmine.com%2Fuk%2Fresources%2Fhr-compliance%2Fdiscrimination%2Fmedia-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school%2F&amp;linkname=Media%20myths%3A%20What%20did%20the%20judge%20really%20say%20in%20Higgs%20v%20Farmor%E2%80%99s%20School%3F\" title=\"Email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cararra-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cararra-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\"><div class=\"wp-block-avatar\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20083615\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp\" width=\"96\" height=\"96\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20083615\/stephen-simpson-brightmine.webp 2x\" alt=\"Stephen Simpson\" class=\"avatar avatar-96 wp-user-avatar wp-user-avatar-96 alignnone photo wp-block-avatar__image\" \/ style=\"border-top-left-radius:500px; border-top-right-radius:500px; border-bottom-left-radius:500px; border-bottom-right-radius:500px;\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-b15f4bf2 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p class=\"\">Written by: <\/p>\n\n\n<div style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500;\" class=\"has-link-color wp-elements-396749221673b8ac7695565b15cd4cd4 wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/author\/stephen-simpson\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Stephen Simpson<\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cararra-gray-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-cararra-gray-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-bleach-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-a36fa716 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:14px;padding-top:10px;padding-right:15px;padding-bottom:15px;padding-left:15px\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Navigate HR complexity with confidence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">With Brightmine, you can build powerful people strategies, implement best practices and set your organisation up for a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Learn how our tools, resources and automation can empower you and your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"\/uk\/solutions\/?intcmp=cta|blog|solutions|learn-more\" style=\"border-radius:25px\">Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<p class=\"\"><a href=\"#top\">Go back to the top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-primary-white-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-4b7a3f7f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:25px;margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You may also be interested in&#8230;<\/h2>\n\n\n<section id=\"resources-search-filter\" class=\"wp-elements-86bd3322b1e1e037add982ae20dda89a wp-block-brightmine-resources-filter has-text-color has-primary-gray-color has-background has-primary-white-background-color\">\n\n\n<div class=\"ajax-filter\">\n<div class=\"lnrs-resources-search-filter  editor-posts-filtered-topics \">\n\t\t<div class=\"search_terms_bottom\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom_left\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"search_terms_result_count\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"bottom_right\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"loader-container\">\n\t\t<span class=\"loader\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-filter-widget__container\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #f3f2f0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/reintegration-after-incarceration\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/06\/23124709\/two-female-hr-professionals-discussing-pay-gaps-in-office-courtyard.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"sync\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/lnrs-resources-filter\/assets\/images\/category-flag.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category_icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category\">Commentary and Insights<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"title\" style=\"color: #00728B\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/reintegration-after-incarceration\/\">Reintegration after incarceration: Challenging the workplace stigma against ex-offenders<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"color: #202526\">People leaving prison continue to face significant barriers to employment, despite the skills and resilience many bring to &#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #f3f2f0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/how-unconscious-gender-bias-shapes-leadership-progression\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/01\/21121504\/coworkers-discussing-project-in-office.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"sync\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/lnrs-resources-filter\/assets\/images\/category-flag.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category_icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category\">Commentary and Insights<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"title\" style=\"color: #00728B\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/how-unconscious-gender-bias-shapes-leadership-progression\/\">No bad intent required: How unconscious gender bias shapes leadership progression<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"color: #202526\">Understand how vague leadership criteria and stereotypes shape leadership outcomes and contribute to unequal progression for women.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource\" style=\"background-color: #f3f2f0\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/disability-discrimination-definition-of-disability\/\"><div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__resource_image\" style=\"background-image: url(https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/09082143\/employees-reviewing-documents-and-working-at-desk-in-office.webp);\"><\/div><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__inner_content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"content-top\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__categories\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"sync\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/lnrs-resources-filter\/assets\/images\/category-flag.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category_icon\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"lnrs-resource-hub-widget__category\">Employment law guide<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"title\" style=\"color: #00728B\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/disability-discrimination-definition-of-disability\/\">Disability discrimination: Definition of disability<\/a><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"color: #202526\">A guide explaining how disability is defined under the Equality Act 2010 and who is protected from disability &#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This resource provides analysis of the Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School decision, and what it means for employers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":11167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"resource-author","categories":[53],"tags":[],"topic":[64,59],"class_list":["post-11166","resources","type-resources","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-c-and-i","topic-discrimination","topic-employment-law-updates"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#039;s School? | Brightmine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This resource provides a clear analysis of the Higgs v Farmor&#039;s School decision, and what it means for employers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#039;s School?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This resource provides a clear analysis of the Higgs v Farmor&#039;s School decision, and what it means for employers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brightmine UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T14:20:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/16014353\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"627\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeAreBrightmine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"12 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3932c1ca0440c5d7a07e453f7651a3c\"},\"headline\":\"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School?\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-04T01:47:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T14:20:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":878,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/16014353\\\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary and Insights\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/\",\"name\":\"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor's School? | Brightmine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/16014353\\\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-04T01:47:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-03T14:20:28+00:00\",\"description\":\"This resource provides a clear analysis of the Higgs v Farmor's School decision, and what it means for employers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/16014353\\\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/04\\\/16014353\\\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":627,\"caption\":\"HR manager reading a Brightmine article about the Higgs v Farmor's School decision.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"HR compliance\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Discrimination\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/hr-compliance\\\/discrimination\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brightmine UK\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Brightmine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/07092215\\\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/10\\\/07092215\\\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp\",\"width\":1941,\"height\":508,\"caption\":\"Brightmine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/WeAreBrightmine\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/brightmine\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@WeAreBrightmine\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3932c1ca0440c5d7a07e453f7651a3c\",\"name\":\"Stephen Simpson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20083615\\\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20083615\\\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjp-rbi-brightmine.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/20083615\\\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp\",\"caption\":\"Stephen Simpson\"},\"description\":\"Stephen is a principal editor who has worked on the Brightmine employment law and leading practice resources for over 20 years. After growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, he trained as a solicitor in England in the 1990s but soon moved into legal publishing. He was among the first recruits to Brightmine in the year before it was launched as XpertHR in 2002. Stephen has worked on a wide range of employment law and leading practice resources, including overseeing the creation and expansion of the HR templates resource types (Policies and procedures, Letters and forms, and Contract clauses). He has written up over 1,000 reports on employment law cases and created practical guidance on a range of HR issues for the Commentary &amp; insights tool. He also had a stint working on Personnel Today.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/stephen-simpson-editor\\\/\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Principal Editor - Employment Law and Compliance\",\"worksFor\":\"Brightmine\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brightmine.com\\\/uk\\\/author\\\/stephen-simpson\\\/\",\"knowsAbout\":[\"Employment law\",\"Family leave\",\"Discrimination\",\"Redundancy\",\"Unfair dismissal\",\"HR policies\",\"Employment case law\"],\"hasCredential\":[{\"@type\":\"EducationalOccupationalCredential\",\"credentialCategory\":\"degree\",\"name\":\"LLB Law\"}],\"alumniOf\":[{\"@type\":\"CollegeOrUniversity\",\"name\":\"Bournemouth University\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"CollegeOrUniversity\",\"name\":\"Teeside University\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tees.ac.uk\\\/\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor's School? | Brightmine","description":"This resource provides a clear analysis of the Higgs v Farmor's School decision, and what it means for employers.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor's School?","og_description":"This resource provides a clear analysis of the Higgs v Farmor's School decision, and what it means for employers.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/","og_site_name":"Brightmine UK","article_modified_time":"2026-07-03T14:20:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":627,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/16014353\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@WeAreBrightmine","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"12 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/"},"author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d3932c1ca0440c5d7a07e453f7651a3c"},"headline":"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School?","datePublished":"2025-04-04T01:47:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-03T14:20:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/"},"wordCount":878,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/16014353\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp","articleSection":["Commentary and Insights"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/","name":"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor's School? | Brightmine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/16014353\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp","datePublished":"2025-04-04T01:47:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-03T14:20:28+00:00","description":"This resource provides a clear analysis of the Higgs v Farmor's School decision, and what it means for employers.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/16014353\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/16014353\/Feature-manager-on-a-computer.webp","width":1200,"height":627,"caption":"HR manager reading a Brightmine article about the Higgs v Farmor's School decision."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/media-myths-what-did-the-judge-really-say-in-higgs-v-farmors-school\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"HR compliance","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Discrimination","item":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/discrimination\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Media myths: What did the judge really say in Higgs v Farmor&#8217;s School?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/","name":"Brightmine UK","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#organization","name":"Brightmine","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/07092215\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/10\/07092215\/Brightmine-logo_Full-color_Primary.webp","width":1941,"height":508,"caption":"Brightmine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/WeAreBrightmine","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/brightmine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@WeAreBrightmine"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/d3932c1ca0440c5d7a07e453f7651a3c","name":"Stephen Simpson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20083615\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp","url":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20083615\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.brightmine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20083615\/stephen-simpson-brightmine-150x150.webp","caption":"Stephen Simpson"},"description":"Stephen is a principal editor who has worked on the Brightmine employment law and leading practice resources for over 20 years. After growing up in Northern Ireland in the 1980s, he trained as a solicitor in England in the 1990s but soon moved into legal publishing. He was among the first recruits to Brightmine in the year before it was launched as XpertHR in 2002. Stephen has worked on a wide range of employment law and leading practice resources, including overseeing the creation and expansion of the HR templates resource types (Policies and procedures, Letters and forms, and Contract clauses). He has written up over 1,000 reports on employment law cases and created practical guidance on a range of HR issues for the Commentary &amp; insights tool. He also had a stint working on Personnel Today.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stephen-simpson-editor\/"],"jobTitle":"Principal Editor - Employment Law and Compliance","worksFor":"Brightmine","url":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/author\/stephen-simpson\/","knowsAbout":["Employment law","Family leave","Discrimination","Redundancy","Unfair dismissal","HR policies","Employment case law"],"hasCredential":[{"@type":"EducationalOccupationalCredential","credentialCategory":"degree","name":"LLB Law"}],"alumniOf":[{"@type":"CollegeOrUniversity","name":"Bournemouth University","url":"https:\/\/www.bournemouth.ac.uk\/"},{"@type":"CollegeOrUniversity","name":"Teeside University","url":"https:\/\/www.tees.ac.uk\/"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/11166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resources"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11166"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/11166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18729,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resources\/11166\/revisions\/18729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11166"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=11166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}