Round-up of consistory court and other cases in April

Fewer than average consistory court judgements were reported during April, although there were other news items of interest.

Church of England freehold incumbents not “employees”

Just squeezing into the April review was Sharpe v The Bishop of Worcester [2015] EWCA Civ 399 in which the Court of Appeal held unanimously that the Revd Mr Sharpe, formerly freehold Rector of Teme Valley South in the Diocese of Worcester, was not an “employee” of the Bishop of Worcester for the purposes of his claim for unfair dismissal or a “worker” for the purposes of his other claims; the Court reversed the contrary finding of the Employment Appeal Tribunal and restored the ruling of the Employment Judge at first instance. Initially covered in our post here, it will be the subject of a longer analysis once we have had the chance properly to digest the judgment. The Church of England press release welcoming the judgment is here.

Burial of fonts, (or not) Continue reading