Christian worker takes Sunday working case to Tribunal

Posted:

20 February 2012

by Stephen Gregory

A child carer who left her job due to a refusal to work on Sundays because of her Christian beliefs is to take legal action.

The case of Celestina Mba, who worked for a children’s home run by the London borough of Merton, will go before an Employment Tribunal today.

She claims that she was pressurised to work on Sundays, contrary to her religious beliefs, and was threatened with disciplinary action in spite of the fact that other workers stepped forward to fill the shifts.

Ms Mba, 57, claims that her managers were at first accommodating of her beliefs and the resultant inability to work on Sundays, but that months later they began to apply pressure.

She says she had no option but to resign from her post after continuously being asked to compromise her church duties, which include serving in a team offering pastoral care and support to the congregation.

She said: “The only day I ever refused to work was Sunday. They knew this when I took the job. I did not hide my faith.

“But then they began to demand that I work on Sunday.”

Ms Mba is to claim for constructive dismissal on the grounds on religious discrimination, with the help of funding from the Christian Legal Centre.

Andrea Williams, director of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “This is another case where we see a lack of respect being given to the Christian faith.

“Celestina was a hard working employee who wished to observe Sunday.

“A public body like the London Borough of Merton should set the highest standards and not behave like this. “