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Abstract
The legal status of the nature of employment of religious ministers is a matter of global concern. Before now, Religious Ministers were not seen as employees due to the absence of intention to create legal relations between Ministers and the Churches. This paper argues that a Religious Minister can be an employee and, therefore, should not be denied rights accruing from contracts of employment. Comparatively, the position of other common law jurisdictions was looked into. We indeed found situations where a contract of employment can exist between the Minister and the Church. In this context, the paper makes some recommendation.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Report of ILO 91 session (2003) <http://ilo/ifp.dial/areas-of-work-labour-law/wcms cnltext IFPDIAL-EN/lang-en?index.htm> (accessed 22 January 2017).
2 See cases such as In Re National Insurance Act 1911; Re Employment of Church of England Curates [1912] 2 Ch 563; Re Employment of Ministers of the United Methodist Church (1912) 107 LT 143; Scottish Insurance Commissioners v Paul [1914] SC 16; Rogers v Booth [1937] 2 All ER 751; President of the Methodist Conference v Parfitt [1984] QB 368; Santokh Singh v Guru Nanak Gurdwara [1990] ICR 309.
3 Ibid.
4 F. Cranmer. ‘Case-law on Church Employment’, [2013] (1) Churches’ Legislation Advisory Service 1–17.
5 Ibid.
6 See the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. See also SERAC v Nigeria (2001) AHRLR 60.
7 [2002] 9 NWLR (Pt 772) 222 SC.
8 E. A. Oji and O.D. Amucheazi, Employment & Labour Law In Nigeria, (Lagos:Mbeyi& Associates Nig Ltd. 23 Mukandasi Street Okota, Isolo, 2015) 27.
9 Ibid., 29.
10 Cranmer (n 3).
11 Ibid.
12 (1984, unreported suit No. 1/23/82, Ibadan H., Ct delivered 20/2/84).
13 [200] 10 NWLR (Pt. 675)315.
14 [2017] LPELR-41738(SC).
15 [1983] 3 All ER 747 (CA).
16 [1986] 1 All ER 705 (HL).
17 [2005] UKHL 73 (Scot).
18 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975( c. 65) was an Act of the Parliament of the United kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status.
19 Percy (n 15) 151.
20 The President of the Methodist Conference v Preston, [2011] EWCA Civ 1581 [25].
21 The New Testament Church of God v Rev Stewart, [2007] EWCA Civ 1004; Singh v Bristol Sikh Temple, [2012] UKEAT/0429/11/ZT. Singh may be contrasted with two earlier decisions involving non-Christian religions in which courts found no employment contract; Santokh Singh v Guru NarakGurduara, [1990] ICR 309 CA (Eng) and Birmingham Mosque Trust v Alavi, [1992] ICR 435 EAT (Eng).
22 [2013] UKSC 29.
23 Ibid., 20.
24 Ibid.
25 Ibid., 28.
26 Ibid., 30–34.
27 Ibid., 47–50.
28 Ibid., 47–50.
29 M. H. Ogilvie. ‘Are Members of the Clergy Without the Law? Hart v Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Kingston’, [2014] Queen’s Law Journal, 461.
30 [1991] 4 OR (3d) 481, 82 DLR (4th) 289 (CA), aff’g (1988), 64 OR (2d) 513 (H Ct J).
31 [1996] OJ No 634 (QL) [2] (Gen Div).
32 David v Congregation B’Nai Israel (1999) 44 CCEL 302 (OntCt J Gen Div).
33 David v Congregation B’Nai Israel [1999], 44 CCEL 302 (Ont Ct J Gen Div).
34 Lewery v Salvation Army in Canada [1993] 135 NBR 348 (CA).
35 [2004] 17 (SC).
36 Ibid.
37 [2002] 8 HCA 209 (CLR).
38 For difference between ‘salary’ and ‘stipend’ see Frank Cranmer, ‘Employment Status of Clergy: Goodbye to the “Servant of God”?’ in Law and Religion Australia, 3rd May 2015, http://www.lawandreligionaustralia.com/2015/05/03/employment-status-of-clergy/.
39 Ermogenous (n 33) 17.
40 Ibid.
41 Crammer, (n 3).
42 Ibid.
43 Ibid.
44 [2012] VCC 1406.
45 In re National (n 1).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Clara Chinasa Obi-Ochiabutor
Clara Chinasa Obi-Ochiabutor, BSc, LLB, LLM, PhD, BL is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, where she teaches Legal Methods and Labour Law. She had a stint in legal practice as a Senior State Counsel in Abia State, Nigeria before joining the University.
Chukwunweike Anukenyi Ogbuabor
Chukwunweike Anukenyi Ogbuabor, LLB (Hons), LLM, PhD, BL is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria. He was a former Head of the Department of International Law & Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria.
Gordian Somadina Mbah
Gordian Somadina Mbah, LLB, BL is an Associate Partner in The Law cathedral Chambers at No. 32B Pioneer Avenue Independence Layout, Enugu, Nigeria.
Ebelechukwu Lawretta Okiche
Ebelechukwu Lawretta Okiche, BA, ACIL, LLB, LLM, PhD, BL is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria where she teaches Law of Consumer Protection and Jurisprudence and Legal Theory. She is also a chartered insurer having studied insurance with the Chartered Insurance Institute of London.