The Church of England ‘filibuster’ over the case of Revd.
Mark Sharpe
1 February 2011
Thousands of legal documents produced, causing the
tribunal to be adjourned
The Church of England hierarchy was today (Tuesday, 1 February)
lambasted for filibusting and using legal delaying tactics in the
case Revd. Mark Sharpe, the Worcestershire vicar who suffered four
years of torment at the hands of his parishioners.
A crunch employment tribunal (ET) due to dissect the ‘medieval’
working practices of the Church of the England in Birmingham
yesterday (Monday, 31 January) was adjourned, after the church
submitted thousands of pages of legal documentation to the
vicar’s legal team just days before the hearing.
Unite, the largest union in the country which is representing the
Revd. Sharpe, said that it was ‘highly ironical and hypocritical’
that the Church of England had introduced today (Tuesday, 1
February, 2011) the Clergy Terms of Service which will give some
clergy limited employment rights.
Unite’s National Officer for the Not for Profit sector, Rachael
Maskell said: ‘Unite is angry that the church has issued
thousands of pages of new material and tried to reverse agreements
already made with the tribunal just days ahead of the employment
tribunal.’
‘The way the church have filibusted over the case of Mark Sharpe is
a disgrace. The church has had nearly three years to make its
disclosures in this very serious case, and waited, cynically, to
just a few hours before the proceedings to unleash mountains
of documents on the tribunal, ensuring that Mark and his lawyers
has no time to study these papers.’
‘The bishops are not above the law and should be on the side of the
oppressed. Delay in such a sensitive case has caused great pain to
Mark and his family.’
‘It is time that MPs legislate once and for all, so that all
ministers can have access to full employment rights.’
The tribunal was due to hear the case of Mark Sharpe who has
said that he and his family endured four years of torment from
parishioners before being forced to leave the rectory at Hanley
Broadheath, near Worcester at the end of 2009.
Unite, which represents 2,500 faith workers, is supporting Revd.
Sharpe in his case, saying that he was unfairly dismissed and is
seeking ‘very substantial’ damages from the Church of
England.
Unite said Revd. Sharpe’s parishioners put him and his family ‘into
Coventry’, and exposed them to a campaign of abuse and intimidation
after he revealed long-standing irregularities in parish
affairs.
Unite further contends that the Rt. Revd. John Inge, Bishop of
Worcester and Rt. Revd. David Walker, the Suffragan Bishop of
Dudley failed in their duty of care to Revd. Sharpe, as his health
and that of his family crumbled under the pressure.
The complex case hinges on whether Revd. Sharpe was an office
holder in the Church of England, and therefore can be denied access
to the ET system or is, in fact, an employee, as Unite argues and a
previous ET hearing upheld, and can have his case heard at an
ET.
Unite has said that bullying of the clergy in the church is rife
and the Diocese of Worcester was one of the worse areas in the
country for this type of behaviour.
Rachael Maskell said: ‘The Church of England needs to introduce the
full range of employment rights for its entire clergy, including
Section 23 of the 1999 Employment Relations Act.’
The campaign of harassment included the tyres to Revd. Sharpe’s car
being slashed twice; the poisoning of a pet dog; the theft of
central heating oil three times; his family being sworn at; his
post being tampered with; and his internet and phone connections
being cut.
-ends-
NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS:
Rachael Maskell, 0207 420 8979 or 07768 693933
Shaun Noble, Communications Officer 020 7420 8951 or 07768 693
940
Unite represents over 60,000 members in the Third Sector.
