A Northern Ireland employment tribunal has dismissed all claims brought by a former Belfast Film Festival employee who alleged she was discriminated against and constructively dismissed after speaking at a Let Women Speak rally in Belfast. The unanimous ruling, issued in case 14943/25IT, found against Sara O'Gorman (Morrison) on every ground, including unfair constructive dismissal, political opinion discrimination, and harassment.

O'Gorman worked as Inclusion/Audience Development Co-ordinator at Belfast Film Festival Limited from 12 February 2020. She resigned on 26 November 2024, having been on sick leave for an extended period following a disciplinary investigation that was initiated but never completed. Both parties agreed before the tribunal that her gender-critical beliefs - which she described as "sex realist" views - constituted a political opinion for the purposes of the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998.

The case centred on events following O'Gorman's speech at a Let Women Speak rally at Donegal Quay, Belfast, on 16 April 2023, an event led by activist Kellie-Jay Keen. The rally generated a counter-demonstration by LGBTQIA+ groups. O'Gorman accepted under cross-examination that she had been required under her contract to seek permission before speaking at the event and had not done so. She also accepted that speaking at the event was likely to lead to her identification online.

After the rally, complaints were received from stakeholder organisations including Queerspace and Outburst Arts, who raised concerns about O'Gorman's participation in the event and its perceived incompatibility with her inclusion role. Belfast Film Festival published a statement on X (formerly Twitter) saying it was reviewing concerns related to diversity matters. O'Gorman's own response to a draft of the statement was recorded as "That's so good! Xx". A disciplinary investigation was subsequently initiated by director Michele Devlin but was paused after O'Gorman submitted a formal grievance and never proceeded to a hearing, findings, or any substantive investigative steps.

O'Gorman alleged that thirteen separate acts amounted to discrimination and harassment on the ground of political opinion, and that cumulatively they constituted a breach of the implied term of mutual trust and confidence justifying her resignation. The tribunal examined each allegation individually and found that none constituted less favourable treatment on the ground of political opinion. It concluded that the respondent's actions in each instance were driven by operational requirements, stakeholder concerns, contractual obligations, or administrative error rather than by O'Gorman's political views.

On the question of a comparator, the tribunal rejected O'Gorman's use of Michele Devlin as an actual comparator, finding that the two did not occupy the same or a materially similar role. It applied instead a hypothetical comparator - an employee in the same role whose circumstances were otherwise the same but who did not hold O'Gorman's political opinion - and found that such a person would not have been treated more favourably in any of the circumstances complained of.

The tribunal found that the grievance process, which was conducted in part as a paper exercise due to O'Gorman's sick leave, involved external HR consultants from Think People Consulting Limited. The grievance was ultimately rejected on 4 July 2024, with one partial finding that the public Twitter post about an internal investigation could be viewed as a potential GDPR concern. An appeal was rejected on 21 November 2024. The appeal outcome noted there was no evidence to support claims that O'Gorman's beliefs were transphobic or fascist, but concluded that Belfast Film Festival had been entitled to initiate an investigation given the stakeholder impact of her participation in the rally.

The hearing ran over eight days in November 2025 before Employment Judge Sturgeon and panel member Mr M McKeown. A third panel member, Professor Deborah Boyd, stood down on health grounds during the hearing. Two recusal applications made on behalf of O'Gorman - one targeting all three panel members and a second targeting Mr McKeown on grounds of his former NIPSA union membership - were both refused, with Professor Boyd's departure treated separately as voluntary. O'Gorman was represented by Ms Naomi Cunningham and Ms Charlotte Elves, instructed by Russell and Co Solicitors. Belfast Film Festival was represented by Mr Sean Doherty, instructed by Worthingtons Solicitors.