Yale-educated organist sacked by Surrey church after row over ‘British patriotic music’ wins wrongful dismissal case

An American organist has won a wrongful dismissal case against a parish church which questioned her willingness to play British patriotic music.

Dr Jenifer Fraser was sacked from her well-paid role as director of music role at St Mary and St Peter Church in Staines, Surrey, after senior figures were unsure if they ‘could afford’ or ‘wanted’ a professional musician of her ‘calibre’.

The parish’s committee felt the position could be carried out by others, ideally on a voluntary basis, and dismissed the experienced musician after ten years in the job.

But congregation numbers plummeted following her dismissal, leading an employment judge to observe that the church may have regretted its decision.

Following her sacking, the Yale-educated Dr Fraser took the church to an employment tribunal, complaining of unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and race discrimination.

She alleged that she had been ‘restricted’ to playing ‘American music’ and claimed ‘comments were made in poor taste about whether she would be willing to play British patriotic music because she is American’.

During her tenure, the organist also said she was ‘excluded’ from the organisation of and involvement in concerts and services within the church. 

The panel upheld part of Dr Fraser’s claims after ruling the decision to remove her from her post was ‘manifestly unfair’ and decided upon in a way which was ‘irregular’.

The tribunal, held in Reading, heard that Dr Frazer had held the role in the church since November 2010 and her duties included playing the organ, organising choir practise and running a hand bell group.

Dr Fraser told the tribunal that senior figures within the organisation first put ‘pressure’ on her to leave her post in 2016.

The panel heard that the organist had a ‘very high’ salary – the exact level of which was not disclosed in the tribunal’s judgment.

The parish’s finances were not in ‘good health’ and senior figures were ‘unsure’ if they ‘could afford’ a musician of Dr Frazer’s calibre, the tribunal was told.

Dr Fraser was ‘hurt’ by these remarks and claimed they were ‘slight on her professionalism’, the tribunal said.

The panel heard that by 2019, the Lay Vice Chair of the church ‘received information’ which led her to believe that Dr Fraser was ‘paid more than was reasonable’.

It was heard that this employee came to the view that the ‘financial situation of the parish needed action’.

Soon after, the Reverend Jonathan Samadi joined the parish church and it was heard that he met with Dr Fraser. During an apparent disagreement she accused him of repeating the phrase ‘I am your Vicar’.

A Standing Committee meeting of the Parochial Church Council (PCC) was held in 2020 and they explored whether savings could be made by looking at posts and salaries.

The tribunal said: ‘The collective view of the Standing Committee by the end of the meeting was that removing [Dr Fraser’s] post of Director of Music should be considered because the salary was believed to be ‘very high relative to our income’.’

Dr Fraser was invited to a meeting on January 24, 2020, and she was told that the PCC had voted to make the post of Director of Music redundant.

The tribunal heard that an anonymous doner had offered to fund the musician’s post, but the church turned them down due to ‘reluctance’ amongst senior staff.

In February 2020, Dr Fraser raised a grievance about her treatment and alleged that there was no prior discussion to indicate that her post was at risk before the decision was taken, amongst other concerns.

She also appealed the decision to fire her but this too was rejected.

The panel rejected Dr Frazer’s claims of discrimination and said there was no link between her nationality and her dismissal.

Employment Judge Judith George said that not all of the parish church could see ‘the type and style of the music which is [Dr Fraser’s] specialty as of inherent value’.

However, she said that the decision appeared to have had consequences for the church’s congregation size.

‘[Dr Fraser’s] supporters would no doubt argue passionately, as they did in the hearing before us, that the tradition at St Peters needs to be respected and that there was a risk that parishioners and their giving would move away if the director of music was not held by a professional.

‘There are also a number of letters from people in the community to that effect.

‘The PCC may have chosen to value the status quo. Since the director of music post has gone, the congregation at St Peters has apparently reduced more than that at St Mary’s and that suggests that Covid alone may not be the cause of the reduction.’

Upholding her claims of unfair dismissal the tribunal ruled her sacking was ‘manifestly unfair in all the circumstances’.

‘The way that the termination was decided upon was irregular,’ it said. ‘The only consideration by the PCC of whether or not the post should be made redundant was on 23 January 2020.

‘They decided on that date that the post should be made redundant.’

The tribunal also found that if a fair dismissal process had been followed, there would have been a 40 percent chance that the claimant would have been dismissed by reason of redundancy.

It therefore decided that a 40 percent deduction should be made from Dr Frazer’s compensation to take account of that chance.