EAT Hears Vicar’s Claims That He Was Dismissed Due To The Breakdown Of His Marriage

In the case of The Reverend Jonathan Gould v St John’s Downshire Hill: UKEAT/0002/20/BA, an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) had to consider whether a dismissed vicar had been discriminated against due to the fact that his marriage had broken down.

Jonathan Gould v St John’s Downshire Hill

Case details

Jonathan Gould (the Claimant) was dismissed from his role as a vicar at St John’s Downshire Hill church (the Respondent) in August 2016. According to the Respondent, the Claimant was sacked from his post on the grounds that they had lost trust and confidence in him.

However, Mr Gould believed that the primary reason for his sacking related to the breakdown of his marriage (in May 2015) and brought legal proceedings in November 2016 against the church for unfair dismissal and direct marriage discrimination.

Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings

In the initial ET proceedings, it was ruled that while the breakdown of the Mr Gould’s marriage was part of an element of events which contributed to his sacking, it was not the principal reason for his dismissal from St John’s Downshire Hill church.

The ET ruled in favour of the Respondent in that the reason for the Claimant’s dismissal was solely down to a breakdown of trust and confidence in his behaviour, including a public display of Mr Gould’s marital problems. However, the breakdown of the relationship itself was not the reason for his dismissal. Mr Gould appealed the decision to the EAT.

EAT proceedings

The EAT, when considering the facts found by the ET, did confirm that it would be possible for such a claim to succeed if the Claimant’s behaviour would not have been a substantial reason for him to be sacked in materially similar circumstances (e.g. he wasn’t married) or likewise, if the reason for Mr Gould’s dismissal was that the Trustees of the church deemed a vicar’s marriage breakdown was a sackable offence.

However, due to the facts of this case, the EAT dismissed the appeal as neither of the above scenarios applied.

Comment

The legal protection from discrimination on the grounds of marriage is often overlooked and does not receive much media attention. However, it is important that employers remember this category of protection and ensure that they do not discriminate against workers on this ground.