Amicus Welcomes same employment rights for Ministers of Religion

16 December 2005
 
Amicus has welcomed today's decision from The House of Lords to treat Ministers of Religion as employees.
 
Amicus' campaign to see Ministers of Religion enjoy the same employment rights as secular employees has spanned for over a decade now. Although today's outcome does not grant them full employment rights it is the first step towards achieving this.
 
An ordained Minister of the Church of Scotland, Ms Percy has claimed sex discrimination in a landmark appeal to the House of Lords. This decision will allow Ministers to argue that they have the same rights as employees.
 
Rachael Maskell, Amicus' National Officer for the Non Profit Sector says:
"Amicus has argued for a long time that Ministers of Religion should be treated the same as employees in regard as having the same employment rights. Discrimination is discrimination whether you work as a minister for the church, or in a factory or office, and therefore the House of Lords ruling, clarifies the argument that Amicus has made over the years.
 
"We believe that this ruling furthers the case that ministers should be employees when dealing with employment issues, and thus force the church to take full responsibility for responding to these issues."