£848.97 – Registrar Lillian Ladele who refused to ‘marry’ gay couples wins five days’ pay in court

Published: 04 June 2010
by TOM FOOT

A CHRISTIAN registrar who refused to “marry” gay couples has won a legal battle with the Town Hall – over five days’ holiday pay.

Lillian Ladele, who lives in Skinner Street, Finsbury, was awarded £848.97 during a two-minute employment tribunal hearing in Covent Garden on Tuesday.

Solicitors representing Islington Council’s legal services agreed they would pay Ms Ladele’s claim for 5.6 days owed.

A council spokesman said yesterday (Thursday): “The Employment Judge ordered the council to pay Lillian Ladele £848.97 under the Working Time Regulations. The hearing took place because Ms Ladele issued a claim against the council about her holiday pay. There are no court costs.”

Ms Ladele, 48, was due to receive tens of thousands of pounds in costs and damages after winning an employment tribunal against Islington Council in 2007. That decision was later overturned on appeal.

The council warned Ms Ladele it could not employ staff holding discriminatory beliefs and demoted her to desk duties. 

She felt she had been discriminated against on account of her religious beliefs and later walked away from the job in September 2009.

The tribunal – which had implications for thousands of marriage registrars across the country – was pitted as a battle between religious and gay rights. Ms Ladele lost a further challenge in the High Court in December 2009 and a further application for the case to be heard in the Supreme Court – the highest court in the land – was rejected in March.

The Civil Partnerships Act has formally recognised gay relationships since 2005.