Resources e-letter 16:2 - April 2016

NEW: ‘How genuine are your GORs?’

Many churches advertise staff posts saying there is a 'Genuine Occupational Requirement' for the post-holder to be a Christian. But can they justify that? Perhaps not.

These notes examine the Equality Act 2010 to see what the exemptions are that allow such an Occupational Requirement (the word 'Genuine' was omitted in 2010 although used in the earlier 2003 Regulations) and how Employment Tribunals interpret the Act. The notes apply this to administrative posts in a church, including the context for the worker.

There is advice on how to set up a post so that an OR might be justified (although the default for administrative posts is that it is not). There is a list of general actions to take to support this. Three websites are recommended for further information.

How genuine are your GORs? is now available at TN92 on the Training Notes pages of the website.
  
  

NEW: ‘And now for the notices’

Spoken announcements in church services need to be chosen with care and spoken with skill.

1. Spoken notices are different from those that are printed.
2. People want news about people more than information about events.
3. Spoken notices are part of the worship, not a TV advertisement break.
4. There are many possibilities.

There are ten further pieces of advice for how to give out a notice well. These include clarifying the headline, identifying who it's for, checking the timing, checking you are the right person, surprising people and watching the feedback.

And now for the notices is now available at TN93 on the Training Notes pages of the website.
  
  

How to use the Resources section of the site

You can look up any of the 135 items now in this section in any of three ways.

The main listings are in order of reference number, and hence date of publication, on the Articles, Training Notes and Health-checks pages. The most recent items come first in these listings.

Or you can explore listings by topics covered. These are divided into six areas which you will find on the Leadership, Management, Structures, Planning, Communication and Administration pages. These may be more useful than the main listings for locating resources.

Thirdly, if you know the title of the item you are looking for, the Alphabetical listing page may prove to be the quickest means of finding it.

All items are available free of charge for downloading or printing out (up to 30 copies) and can be used for personal study, group discussion, staff meetings, church councils, action groups, etc.
  
  

Thank you for your interest in the Resources section of my website and with my warmest good wishes