Church schools told not to discriminate in employment

From Ekklesia - 09/03/06

In a landmark ruling church schools have been told they may not to reserve key posts for teachers from their own denomination. An employment tribunal has found in favour of a maths teacher who was turned down for a post at his school because he was not a Roman Catholic reports the Scotsman. David McNab, who is an atheist, has been a maths teacher at St Paul's RC High School in Pollok, Glasgow, since 1991.

But when he applied for the post of acting principal teacher of pastoral care 18 months ago, he was told by the headteacher that he could not be considered for the post as he is not a Catholic. Mr McNab was yesterday awarded £2,000 after the tribunal found he had been "unlawfully discriminated against ... on the grounds of his religion", in contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Scotsman reports. Mr McNab said that he was "very happy and elated" at the judgment.

The tribunal had heard that the school had a system of "reserved posts", such as headteacher or guidance teacher, which could be filled only by candidates who were approved by the Catholic Church. In its ruling yesterday, the tribunal found that the system was not justifiable in law. Church schools often advertise key posts with the requirement that candidates have a Christian faith. Some go further, and specify that sympathy is required with a particular denomination.

Mr McNab, who is currently off work due to stress, said he was treated "like a second-class citizen" when he was told he could not apply for the job. Yesterday, he said: "I'm very glad that the law has been seen to apply to everybody universally. I hope this case brings the system of reserved posts to an end." Jonathan Cornwell, Mr McNab's solicitor, said: "I'm happy that the tribunal has made the right decision."

The ruling comes at a time when church schools are facing growing pressure from both inside and outside churches to tackle their discriminatory admissions and employment policies. The Archbishop of Canterbury will next week give a keynote address at a major conference on church schools, and address the Church of England’s position on religious education, teaching as a vocation, and school admissions policies.