"Many Photos" - Disabled grandfather reinstated to Asda job after sacking for 'anti-Islamic' Billy Connolly post

A disabled granddad who was fired by Asda and feared for his life after sharing a Billy Connolly sketch about religion on his Facebook page has won his battle to get back the job he loves.

Till worker Brian Leach, 54, initially said he did not want his job back - he just wants an apology after being accused of Islamophobia.

But the company has now reinstated him to his position at the Dewsbury branch superstore after he appealed against his sacking last month.

Till worker Brian Leach, 54, was sacked from his job at the Dewsbury branch superstore for sharing a Billy Connolly skit on social media in which the comedian jokes about Islam and suicide bombers

Mr Leach, who is registered disabled after being injured in a car crash as a child, was fired for gross misconduct after sharing a skit by comedian Connolly that joked about Islam and suicide bombers.

Six colleagues at his store and a woman at head office complained that the comments in the skit, which was years old, were anti-Islamic.

He received the post from a relative on May 1 and within a week was reprimanded by the store.

After receiving backlash for the post he deleted it but was then fired for gross misconduct after five years working for the company

He deleted the post and wrote a grovelling apology to his bosses but was still dismissed without notice for breaching the company's social media policy.

Mr Leach, who had worked for Asda for five years, confirmed the sketch involved was Billy Connolly's 'Religion is Over' routine.

He underlined that he had not added any comments - he had just shared the post with his Facebook friends.

It was a static image of the Big Yin with the comments that came from his original live performance of the skit years ago.

Mr Leach announced the sacking on Facebook and said he'd miss his regular customers

In the sketch, the comedian rails against religious followers of Christianity and Islam.

Mr Leach's post included the lines: 'Religion is over, lads, it's f***ing over. Take your Reformation, your Vatican, your f***ing Mecca, and f*** off.

'Suicide f***ing bombing - now there's a bright idea. Every time there's a bang the world is a w***er short. F***ing idiots.'

Brian, a dad of one who lives in Dewsbury with a partner, said: 'I am overcome with disappointment that I have lost the job I love and the injustice of it all.

'I do regret posting it but we should be able to share comedy and I thought the line about suicide bombers was very funny.

But after making him clear out his locker, the company has now reinstated him after he appealed against his sacking last month

'Anyway, Asda sells Billy Connolly books and DVDs so it seems like double standards to me.

'I realise it was poor judgement but it was just a joke and I didn't expect another colleague to post it to the entire Asian community.

'I thought I was going to end up with a knife in my back when I was stood at the back of the store on a quiet night.

'When I posted it I did not think much about it until I was hauled in. They showed me a screen shot of my post and asked me to explain myself.

'They said seven people, all Asian as I understand it, had complained including the woman at head office who escalated the complaint.

'I thought I would get off with a final written warning but then I realised I was going.'

Mr Leach lodged an appeal in the case, saying 'I don't want my job back after all that has happened. I just want them to admit I was unjustly dismissed.

'People were calling me a racist. There is no way I am a racist. Everyone is welcome at my till.'

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of the National Secular Society - an organisation which campaigns to separate politics from religion - said the decision to reinstate Mr Leach was 'a victory for common sense'

Brian worked part time in an ice cream parlour after being dismissed for gross misconduct. 

However he has now been reinstated to his position by the company.

Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of the National Secular Society - an organisation which campaigns to separate politics from religion - said the decision was 'a victory for common sense'.

'We welcome Asda's decision to reinstate Brian Leach, although this case raises broader concerns about the extent to which employers can legitimately restrict their employees' freedom of expression on social media,' he added. 

An Asda spokesman previously said they do not comment on individual circumstances but that they would not tolerate any form of discrimination from colleagues or customers and take such behaviour extremely seriously.

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News Photo Disabled grandfather reinstated to Asda job after sacking for 'anti-Islamic' Billy Connolly post
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