Vicar can’t claim for unfair diamissal ‘because he is employed by God’

A village vicar who says he was forced out of his job has been told he cannot claim unfair dismissal because he is ‘employed by God.’ Reverend Mark Sharpe claims he had no option but to resign after a campaign of abuse by parishioners.

The 44-year-old Reverend accused the church of failing to support him in the remote country parish in Teme Valley South, near Tenbury Wells. Rev Sharpe said: ‘This is a local parish for local people - that is the attitude.When I arrived here, I held a lunch for the church wardens of all six churches.



‘At the end of the lunch, one of the wardens, Sally Jones, boasted that they didn’t get on with the previous rector so they “chewed him up and spat him out”.’ Mrs Jones denies that she made this comment.

His claim of constructive dismissal was being supported by Unite, the union. But lawyers for the Diocese of Worcester pointed to ecclesiastical laws which state that clergy are not employees but office holders ‘employed by God.’ They say vicars are therefore not eligible to claim unfair dismissal, because God cannot be sued.