Sex discrimination is a civil matter and not “matters spiritual”

Sex discrimination is a civil matter and not “matters spiritual”

An agreement between a minister of the Church of Scotland and the Church’s Board of National Mission whereby the minister undertook to perform the duties of an associate minister in return for salary, accommodation and other benefits, was an agreement which created legal relations between the parties. The agreement was therefore subject to the laws prohibiting sex discrimination. Complaints of sex discrimination were civil matters and not “matters spiritual” and therefore the employment tribunal had jurisdiction to hear and determine them.