The plaintiff, a Salvation Army Officer claimed under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
Held: The claim failed. Sir Wilfred Green MR said that membership of the Salvation Army gave rise to a relationship ‘pre-eminently of a spiritual character’ which was not intended to give rise to legal relations, and ‘The circumstances that a monetary sum is paid to officers who enter into this relationship is, in my opinion, quite insufficient to change the relationship from what it otherwise would be. It is quite obvious that, if officers are devoting the whole of their lives to this service, the Army would make provision to maintain them, and that it in effect does. But that does not mean that the sum which is paid has any similarity to wages or salary, or any payment given contractually for services given or for services rendered. It is a maintenance payment, to enable them to carry on the work that they have undertaken. It appears to me, therefore, that the appellant cannot establish, not merely a contract of service, but also any contractual relationship at all which could possibly become a contract of service or be a contract of service, and, in my opinion, the appeal fails on that ground. So the question is whether the payment was made contractually for the services, and whether the services were rendered in return for the payment, or whether it was a mere grant or solatium.’
Judges:
Sir Wilfred Green MR
Citations:
[1937] 2 All ER 751
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – The New Testament Church of God v Reverend Stewart CA 19-Oct-2007
The appellant appealed a finding that the respondent had been its employee, saying he was a minister of religion.
Held: The judge had been entitled to find an intention to create legal relations, and therefore that the claimant was an . .
Cited – Gladman Commercial Properties v Fisher Hargreaves Proctor and Others CA 14-Nov-2013
The claimant appealed against the striking out of his claims for fraudulent or negligent misrepresentation as to the suitability for deveopment of two former fire service properties. The court had said that a settlement with co-tortfeasors operated . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Ecclesiastical
Updated: 07 May 2022; Ref: scu.259926