When the Church of England voted to allow the ordination of
women priests it was thought a number of individuals would resign
from the Church on the grounds of conscience.
The Church, therefore, instructed the Church Commissioners
for England to draw up a system of benefits to help clergy who felt
they had no option but to resign.
The scheme was introduced in early 1994 under the Ordination of
Women (Financial Provisions) Measure. This measure covers only the
Church of England. No other Church is involved and the Measure does
not cover the Anglican churches in Wales, Scotland or Northern
Ireland.
To benefit from the Measure those resigning as a matter of
conscience over the ordination of women priests must have resigned
within the period commencing six months prior to, and ending 10
years after, the date of the Canon of the Church of England
enabling a woman to be ordained to the office of priest coming into
effect.
The Canon came into effect on 25 February 1994 so those
resigning as a matter of conscience over the ordination of women
priests must do so between 25 August 1993 and 24 February 2004 to
benefit from this Measure.
At the time of resignation, the individual must have been in
paid ecclesiastical service of not less than five years duration
within the Province of Canterbury (including the Diocese of Europe)
or the Province of York.
The two Provinces cover the whole of England, the Channel
Islands and the Isle of Man but nowhere else within Great Britain
and Northern Ireland.
Payments under the provisions of the Measure should only be
made where the individual has resigned from ecclesiastical service
over the ordination of women priests, and, as a result, ceases to
hold employment or ecclesiastical office and ceases to receive
remuneration in the form of either stipend or salary.
There is no restriction placed on where individuals who
qualify to benefit from this Measure can live. This means that,
although they must have been in paid ecclesiastical service of not
less than five years duration within England, the Channel Islands,
the Isle of Man or Europe at the time of resignation, after
resigning they are free to live where they choose.
There are three categories of payment which may arise from the Measure:
These payments are described in more detail in the following paragraphs.
Normally payable for up to three years:
Individuals who were/are aged 50 or over at the time they claim
payment under the provisions of the Measure will continue to
receive periodical payments at 66.6 % of the National Minimum
Stipend after the third year until they reach the age of 60.
These payments are intended as hardship payments and are
suspended or reduced if the person is in paid employment. This paid
employment includes any remunerated office with another Church, for
example the Church of Scotland or the Roman Catholic Church.
The period during which these payments are made will be
treated as pensionable service.
These would be payable at the rate of 30% of the National Minimum Stipend.
These would be payable, net of any State funding, for a limited
period. These grants may be made to assist towards vocational
training, for example teacher training courses.
The grants can take the form of the direct payment of fees,
or direct monetary assistance.
Payments made under the provisions of this Measure are
compensatory payments made to relieve and protect individuals from
the consequences of their loss of office through resignation.
These payments are not rewards for past services or
inducements to continue to perform services and will not,
therefore, constitute earnings. As a result, no NIC liability will
arise on any of the payments described above.
If staff discover or are asked about similar payments from
the Church to resigning individuals they should refer the case to
their Technical Support Manager for advice, providing full details
and documentation relating to the payments.
