A ROMAN Catholic priest who has been accused of sexually harassing and unfairly sacking his former housekeeper is to face the complaints on his own when the case comes to an industrial tribunal in the next few weeks.
Maria McBride, 29, has taken Fr David Brown, former priest at St Thomas's Church in Riddrie, Glasgow, to an industrial tribunal claiming she was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against on the grounds of her sex. She claims he sexually harassed her.
A preliminary tribunal hearing took place earlier this month to decide who her employer was. Ms McBride had argued both the Archdiocese of Glasgow and Father Brown were her employers and brought the case against both.
However, the tribunal has ruled only Fr Brown was her employer which means he will now face her claims on his own at the full hearing.
At the earlier hearing, Ms McBride, who has four children, said she was very upset when Fr Brown told her he was going away and she was being made redundant. She said: ''It was a bombshell.''
Ms McBride, from Govanhill, Glasgow, told the tribunal she was under the impression Father Brown employed her as his housekeeper on behalf of the Archdiocese of Glasgow.
She added: ''Fr Brown wouldn't have taken me on unless he was sure I knew what I was doing. I just went about my duties, unless there were priests and guests coming then Fr Brown would inform me on the plans for that day.''
The tribunal heard that Ms McBride, a divorcee, was offered the housekeeper's job by Fr Brown, a long-standing family friend and godfather to one of her children.
The Archdiocese said she was employed by Father Brown.
It is understood Father Brown, who was at the hearing but did not address it, is now staying with a friend.
Her solicitor, Gerry Sinclair, accused the Archdiocese of washing its hands of the matter as the housekeeper was keeping a house that did not belong to the parish priest, it belonged to the Archdiocese. The tribunal heard priests were self-employed.
In its findings, the tribunal criticised the fact that Fr Brown had failed to give Ms McBride a statement of her terms and conditions of employment. It also recommended that the church should consider issuing appro- priate guidance to parish priests regarding their responsibilities in terms of people they employed, such as housekeepers.
The case is now expected to be heard by a tribunal in the next few weeks. A date has not yet been set.
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