I was effectively terminated without explanation or notice because I dared tweet about my lawful beliefs. Because I was on a precarious contract the company I worked for (Cornerstones) is arguing they were entitled to do this.

I am going to the Employment Tribunal in September to argue that I deserve Equality Act protection. If I am successful I hope to hold Cornerstones accountable for the way they discriminated against me because of my age and my beliefs.

Please donate to support my legal case which will have important precedential value for all precariously employed individuals. Please also share with others who may wish to help.

Who am I?

My name is Sibyl Ruth. I am 63. I’ve worked as an editor in in the field of creative writing for nearly 30 years. I’m also a widely published writer of poetry and prose. I live in Birmingham with my husband. I have a grown-up daughter and two adult stepchildren.

What happened to me?

Though I’ve always been a writer I never really thought much about freedom of speech. There didn’t seem to be any need. I was wrong.

In early 2022 I was working for Cornerstones Literary Consultancy as one of their ‘Core Editors’. I had been working with them without issue for about a year. Then, in May, odd things started to happen. Management told me without warning that the client I was working for no longer required my services. About a week later I noticed I had been removed from the Editors’ page on the Cornerstones website. When I enquired about this, was told that it was ‘unlikely’ that more projects would be fed my way.  

I was confused and distressed. Ultimately, a Subject Access Request revealed that a member of staff at Cornerstones took objection to the gender critical views I expressed in my Twitter account (i.e. my belief that sex is immutable and determined from conception). Cornerstones proceeded to immediately halt any work I was doing for them by lying to me and their client, and then effectively terminated me.

What is my legal case?

It is my case that Cornerstones discriminated against me because of my lawful gender critical beliefs and my age. The case of Forstater v CGD Europe UKEAT/0105/20/JOJ  established that my beliefs are protected under the Equality Act and ‘worthy of respect’ in a democratic society. These beliefs are often held by older women who grew up during the period of second-wave feminism. I think it is important for a court to recognise that we have been disproportionately targeted for our gender critical beliefs.

Before I can even bring my discrimination claim, however, I need to establish that I deserve Equality Act protection.

Like many in the arts world, I had a precarious contract with Cornerstones in which it purported to absolve itself from any liability arising from an employment related claim. It did this by labelling me as an ‘independent contractor’ even though Cornerstones set the contractual terms with clients, unilaterally decided how to split the client fee, controlled how my work was produced, obliged me to prioritise Cornerstones work, required me to be ‘an ambassador’ for the company and subjected me to various types of minute control.

I am headed to the Employment Tribunal on 14 September 2023 to argue the first limb of my case: that I deserve Equality Act protection.

Why should you support me?

The first limb of my case could have significant positive repercussions across the arts world and beyond by signalling to de facto employers that they will be held accountable for any kind of behaviour put to us that would breach Equality Act standards. In the case of Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5 the Supreme Court affirmed that the purpose of employment legislation is to protect workers from unfair treatment. I was treated unfairly. My livelihood was taken away from me – without explanation or notice – because I dared tweet about my lawful beliefs.

I am the descendant of German Jews. My family history has made me acutely aware of the major problems that can arise from censorship and attempts to limit democratic debate. This is why I feel strongly about tweeting about public interest issues under my own name.

I believe that at work we should be polite and professional. This may require us not to say what we think all the time. But I don’t believe organisations should have the power to control what we say at home, when we talk to friends, or when we’re discussing topical issues on social media. All of us are different. We have various views about what equality means and need to be able to explore these differences, without being at risk of losing our jobs.

The overreach of companies into the private lives of individuals is a danger to democracy and freedom. I and others like me deserve to benefit from the fundamental human rights protections that my ancestors (and yours) fought for.

What am I crowdfunding for?

I am assisted at no cost by the Free Speech Union and it is thanks to them that I have got this far in the legal process. Over the past months I have been expertly advised by Doyle Clayton and represented by Chris Milsom of Cloisters (my legal team).

I am now at a point where I need your support so that my legal team can continue fighting the good fight with me. All funds will go directly to them.

Though this case has been about losing work, I think that challenging what happened at Cornerstones, may well be one of the most important jobs I have ever done. Please consider supporting me.

Thank you.