An employment tribunal recently ordered a charity to pay over £15,000 in compensation to a former priest who was found to have been an employee. In Tewari v The Trustees of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the trustees operated a religious centre (a Mandir). Mr Tewari started volunteering at the Mandir as a priest in 2013. He subsequently commenced regular paid work in 2016. In 2018, Tewari was issued with a draft contract of employment, but the terms were not agreed and it was not signed.

Tewari was involved in a number of disagreements with the trustees, including about his hours and pay, his availability to work, and the trustees’ response to the risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Tewari’s services were terminated by the trustees in November 2020 without any process being followed. Following a review by an HR consultant, the trustees then wrote to Tewari confirming that he was to be “re-engaged” as a zero-hours worker, with a final written warning. However, his services were not required at that time as the Mandir was closed due to the pandemic.