Employment status of Church of England curates: Green v Lichfield DBF

In Reverend D Green v Lichfield Diocesan Board of Finance [2023] UKET 2409635/2022, the primary issue was the extent to which a stipendiary curate had standing to bring a claim before an Employment Tribunal.

The background

Mr Green had been ordained deacon by the Bishop of Lichfield in June 2019 and licensed as stipendiary assistant curate to a benefice in the Diocese for a four-year term until 29 June 2023 [25]. The Licence was issued subject to reg 29(1)(c) Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Regulations 2009 [26]. The Licence and Authority specified that it was a training post and that Mr Green was required to undertake ministerial education (Initial Ministerial Education 2) while he held it [27]. Continue reading