A former staff member at the Belfast Film Festival has lost an employment tribunal case in which she claimed she was discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs.

Sara Morrison, who was the festival's inclusion and audience development coordinator, resigned in 2023 after an internal investigation was launched into her attendance at a Let Women Speak rally in Belfast. She argued that the investigation and her treatment amounted to direct discrimination and harassment based on her political opinions on sex and gender.

The tribunal panel, however, dismissed all claims. In a written judgment, it found that Ms Morrison's political opinion was not the reason for any alleged detrimental treatment. The panel also concluded that the investigation did not create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for her, even though it may have caused considerable distress and contributed to her perception that the festival was not adequately supporting her.

The case centred on an event in April 2023 organised by English activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. Ms Morrison spoke at the rally in a personal capacity, criticising several organisations including partner bodies of the film festival. The event drew protests from LGBT groups, some of whom later told the festival they could no longer work with her.

The tribunal noted that under her employment contract, Ms Morrison should have sought the festival's permission before speaking at the rally but failed to do so. It contrasted this with an instance where the festival's managing director, Michele Devlin, obtained board approval before appearing in a political election broadcast.

Ms Morrison's legal team had argued that emails from board member and filmmaker Mark Cousins revealed an intent to have her dismissed. The panel rejected that interpretation, stating the correspondence indicated a desire to accelerate a process that was already in progress, not to terminate her employment.

After the ruling, Ms Morrison said she was considering her options and believed the tribunal had got it wrong. She stated that the case was the first time a Northern Irish tribunal had considered a gender-critical belief discrimination claim and that it would not be the last. The Belfast Film Festival welcomed the judgment and said it remained committed to fair employment practices and a respectful, inclusive working environment.