Unite Faith Workers - Morning Star article.

Exploiting faith in the workforce

Ministers of Religion, as they are legally called, or clergy, priests, ministers, rabbis and imams as they are more commonly known, still lack the employment and health and safety rights that ordinary employees have to protect them.

Against the backdrop of powerful senior clerics (bishops) and congregations, ministers have no legal recourse to protect them from abuse.

Unite handles around 150 faith-related cases a year, predominantly from the Anglican church. These cases include clergy living in unsafe rectories, sexual harassment from parishoners, stress and bullying.

Research and surveys have cited that about 80 per cent of ministers experience bullying at some point in the course of their work.

Clerics come to Unite as we provide support through our network of representatives, who are all faith workers themselves.

The reps are skilled at managing cases where there are often no procedures or processes, which gives so much power to bishops, for example, that there is sometimes no fairness in the process.

The only way to ensure these processes are free from bias is to guarantee independent restitution to issues - all cases should go to an employment tribunal.

The churches are fiercely resisting all situations ending up in a tribunal, claiming that this is not appropriate for "office holders."

Yet there is little evidence of proactive work in the church exercising anything resembling a duty of care. This leaves brave ministers no choice but to bring test cases themselves.

In recent years Church of Scotland minister Helen Percy took a case for sex discrimination to tribunal and won the right to use tribunals for such cases in future.

More recently Reverend Sylvester Stewart took his case of unfair dismissal through the appeal courts, again his employment status was tested and he was given leave to run his case. The ruling also cited that the law needed reviewing for ministers of religion.

Whilst this has not been done, more test cases are being brought.

Unite is now running such a case, listed for an employment tribunal in May, which will advance the employment rights of ministers of religion should it succeed.

The Church of England has conceded that the priest involved was a "worker," which was a very significant step forward, and gave leave for Unite to bring a case on the basis of protection from harassment.

Unite highlighted the atrocious abuse that this member, Reverend Mark Sharpe, experienced from his parishioners, including the slashing of his car tyres, verbal abuse and threats, poisoning of his pet dog, smearing of excrement on his car and the theft of his heating oil.

The way that the bishops refused to meet him and give him any support for over two years was something that no employee should experience. Worse, they left him and his family to live in a rectory full of category one hazards including crumbling asbestos, water in the electrics - which caused electrical burns - noxious gases, mould and eventually no heating or hot water. They did nothing to stop the abuse, and stopped his pay when he became ill - all impacting on Mr Sharpe, his wife and four children's health and wellbeing.

Before Christmas Mr Sharpe, a Unite member, was granted medical retirement at the age of just 42 years and was then told that the diocese would commence eviction proceedings against him.

Mr Sharpe has been brave in standing up and speaking for the clergy, many who are too frightened to talk of their experiences of sexual harassment, abuse and intimidation.

It has enabled many more to talk about their own nightmare situations, and the appalling way that the church has either ignored them, or worse, sided with the perpetrators.

The church has continued to deny problems exist, and piously will "cross the road to the other side" when issues are raised - certainly not practising what it preaches. Most ministers are too afraid to raise their situations and continue to struggle alone.

Many have called to join Unite as they know just how vulnerable they are, and have had the courage to tell us of their situations. We are breaking the silence on this abuse, and for the sake of the church, would urge it to listen and talk to us, as there is a very ugly picture out in the field and they cannot deny what is going on.

There is absolutely no reason why faith workers should be denied employment rights. Many employers would prefer not to abide by employee protection legislation, faith bodies must not be allowed to get away with it.

Rachael Maskell is national officer for the Unite union