Judge to fired pastor: you work for God

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Published Aug 10, 2015

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Durban - Doing God’s work is not covered by labour laws in South Africa, a fired Durban pastor has discovered after losing the final round of a four-year fight for compensation from his church.

And the judges who ruled against him have cautioned others with similar disputes “arising from church doctrinal governance” to rather deal with these issues internally.

“The constitutional rights to freedom of religion and association would be better served if disputes are left to the leadership of the church concerned,” Labour Court Appeal Judge King Ndlovu said, with Judges Basheer Waglay and Dennis Davis concurring.

The appeal before them involved a dispute between the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and Mxolisi Myeni, who was “ordained” as a pastor in Durban in 2004 but who was dismissed in December 2011 for “misconduct”, for allegedly taking for himself sacrificial offerings from members of the congregation meant for the church.

The matter has already been before the CCMA and the labour court. Both ruled in Myeni’s favour and awarded him compensation of R65 000.

But the church took the matter to the appeal court arguing that Myeni was a voluntary worker, a “servant of God” and not an employee with rights under labour legislation.

In the recent judgment, Judge Ndlovu said the church was governed under a constitution which determines that its bishop and pastors serve “under the Great Bishop, Jesus Christ”.

Myeni and his wife signed two documents, one containing regulations and the other a declaration of “voluntary service” which set out that he was not an employee but rendered his services voluntarily, albeit with an allowance.

Servant

In his declaration, Myeni said he understood that “I am not an employee but a servant, rendering devotional assistance because of my convictions”.

At the CCMA hearing, he testified that the church paid him a stipend of R7 500 a month and he received a payslip showing deductions for tax and UIF. He was also given free accommodation, worth about R4 500 a month.

Judge Ndlovu said the CCMA commissioner had concluded that the relationship was indeed one of employer/employee, that the documents the pastor had been forced to sign were an attempt to avoid the provisions of the Labour Relations Act and Myeni’s constitutional right to fair labour practice, and that he must be compensated.

The church was not happy and took it on review, but the Labour Court agreed with the commissioner’s ruling.

On appeal, however, Judge Ndlovu ruled that the evidence supported the church’s version.

“The apparent tenor and spirit of the two documents as well as that of the church’s constitution and his own evidence reflects that his only ‘contractual interest’, if any, would have been more about binding himself to working for God than to be remunerated by the church subject to the labour laws of the country.”

The judge said in his own evidence Myeni had said: “When I was fired I was working for God.”

And under cross-examination, when asked “Do you agree you worked for God”, he replied: “Yes”.

He said as for the church, it was common cause that it never intended to enter into any employment contract with Myeni whose claim, he said, bordered on being “disingenuous and opportunistic”.

Quoting case law, Judge Ndlovu said these disputes should be left to the church. A court should be involved only where strictly necessary. He upheld the appeal.

The Mercury

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