Vicar loses unfair dismissal claim because he was employed by God

A vicar who claimed he was at the centre of a four-year campaign of hate has lost a court of appeal battle over his right to bring about action for unfair dismissal in front of an employment tribunal.

Reverend Mark Sharpe alleged to have suffered a litany of misfortune during his time at a Church of England (CoE) parish in Worcestershire; his dog was poisoned, his  tyres were slashed and the car body was smeared with excrement, his mail was tampered with, his phone lines were cut, glass was smashed on his driveway, heating oil was stolen, he was threatened on his own doorstep, and he was even told off for having a beard.

He ascertained that he had a legal right to bring around a constructive unfair dismissal claim, but a trio of appeal judges - Lady Justice Arden, Lord Justice Davis and Lord Justice Lewison – all ruled, due to his occupation as a vicar, that he was “neither a party to a contract of employment, nor a worker” because, under ecclesiastical law, he is not an employee of the CoE but a “religious office holder.”