Trouble in church (2): The case of the non-undeniable NDA
NewsThree years ago, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, ordered the Church of England to stop imposing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) on clergy and staff who were leaving for one reason or another.
Which makes the present imbroglio at Winchester Cathedral all the more unfathomable.
Last week Director of Music Andrew Lumsden left his post after 22 years amid fulsome expressions of regret on both sides.
Word circulated soon after that he did not leave of his own volition. But neither Lumsden nor his friends can talk about the matter because he is said, deniably, to be bound by an NDA which, as we know, does not exist in the CoE. Winchester Cathedral likewise cannot comment for much the same untraceable reason.
The Lord works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform.
UPDATE: Winchester says: no comment
Verily it is the piece of cod that passeth all understanding.
Proverbs 21:2
“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts.”
The problems of the “Church” of England started with it`s founder Henry VIII, who was just about as “Christian” as Britain today, so…
Some prefer the pointy hats of the Popes.
…it is founder…?
If it’s not cod, it’s flounder.
Winchester have tried to be very clever with this. The announcement of Andrew’s departure on their website 29 April was accompanied by an effusive tribute to his term as Director of Music from Dean Ogle.
https://www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/news/andrew-lumsden-director-of-music-to-stand-down/
__
On 2 May Dean Ogle posted on Facebook another glowing tribute to the music at the Cathedral although – strangely – with no mention of Andrew’s departure. Here is the text:
__
A message from Dean Catherine, May 2024
“When I hear the voices of our choristers, boys and girls, I am often astonished by what they are capable of – their young talent paired with their dedication and hard work. Both the girls and the boys shine in this role, and its inspiring to see and to hear.”
__
For the vast majority of readers, the sub-text of the messages will be lost. All will appear to be well at Winchester. The absence of any comment from the Precentor – who is widely believed to be the instigator of Andrew’s departure – is also obviously to ‘those in the know’. I suppose a NDA works both ways so the Precentor can choose to avoid any comment, as much as Andrew is forced to keep quiet.
Words totally fail me. At least polite ones.
It’s literally in the press release-
Andy is greatly loved by his colleagues and our congregations, and he will be much missed”** said Canon Andy Trenier, Precentor,**. “he goes with our deep gratitude and appreciation.”
Interestingly, the Canon Precentor was absent from service this morning…
He’s on holiday in Devon with his family , which I think is allowed.
It absolutely shouldn’t be, not right now. Part of his role is to provide pastoral care to the musicians who presumably are not allowed to go on holiday during term-time. And at such a sensitive time it speaks volumes that the Precentor is found wanting by not even being there!
There absolutely must be an immediate investigation by the newly-appointed Bishop of Winchester into this malfeasance in his cathedral. The known facts are that the precentor, appointed in 2019, has had a vendetta against Andrew Lumsden since before Christmas 2023, if not longer. With or without the the Dean’s knowledge, he pursued various legal options to get rid of him because there was no formal basis for dismissal. Prior to this, in 2021, the organist George Castle was bullied and eventually “made redundant” by this same precentor. An investigation at that time found that there was indeed bullying in the workplace. Nothing further was done. The cathedral musicians are all too aware of this man’s day-to-day behaviour. It is not known, in the Lumsden situation, whether there was a payoff, or an NDA, or both. Only an investigation by the Bishop will bring any knowledge at all of what has really been going on here. I understand several individuals and groups have already written the Bishop to demand such an investigation.
But looking down the road: what church musician in his/her right mind is going to want to work for this awful man? What is the future of the music here?
If we assume the statement is correct: “the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, ordered the Church of England to stop imposing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) on clergy and staff“, this does not prevent
a) an NDA being mutually agreed, but not imposed,
b) an NDA being imposed by a party other than the CofE.
NDA or no, it is quite possible that Andrew just doesn’t want to air grievances, however entertaining they may be to scribblers with a little time on their hands.
This might have been slightly before Welby’s directive (but if it did, only slightly) but another cathedral director of music who “stood down” rather than retire was himself the one to impose NDAs on his lay clerks when he left… and I know they’ve been used in a nearby cathedral within recent memory when directors and singers have parted ways under less than amicable circumstances…
The NDA presents a very real challenge if Andrew seeks new employment. I speak from a background in industry, not music. It is standard practice to ask for a reference from your previous employer. Whichever way Winchester try to ‘dress this up’, there is one insurmountable issue. A standard ‘reference question’ is “would you re-employ this person in the future ?”. The logic in asking this is obvious. Winchester cannot say “yes” because this begs the obvious question “why did he leave ?”. However they cannot say no, because they are then tied into not disclosing the reasons why – because of their own NDA. It’s a nightmare scenario and I’m sure a skilled employment lawyer would run rings around the Cathedral on this. I recall when a Cathedral musician was ‘dismissed’ in the 1980’s, his successor made very sure his new contract was very carefully examined by his own employment lawyer. Whoever takes on the challenge of working at Winchester would be well advised to do the same.
In a high profile case like this, only a very poorly informed employer would ask that question. But there are easy ways of side stepping this. 1) “In an appropriate role, yes we would re-employ”, 2) “As a policy we provide references with standard employment details only”.
I think the NDA is not the issue here. It is that, once again, the church leaders seem to be locked in a self-destructive battle to debase its own musical tradition. And having employed exceptional musicians with the expectation that they are there to provide music of the highest standard of excellence, it then undermines them at every turn. There are, of course, church leaders who understand and value the inspirational and educational role of music. But the church seems generally to be lead by a generation of dimwits, who want either to control or destroy what they do not understand.
Even in a traditionally dysfunctional organisation like the church, the discovery of new forms of self-harm goes on !
It is simply that it is getting so hard to recruit clergy, that they are now accepting those with zero managerial or leadership ability, integrity and wisdom ? And hoping that divine intervention will take the place of competence ?
In any other setting, that would not be a recipe for success.
If you look up the Precentor on LinkedIn (there is scant detail on the Cathedral website) you will see he has had a somewhat varied career to date. Astonishingly, he has even worked in ‘mediation’.
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/andy-trenier-ab546167?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
You are right in your assessment of excellence. Andrew is one of our top Cathedral musicians and – with 22 years in the job – has been at Winchester for rather longer than any of the current Clergy. The reputational damage to the Cathedral will be felt for some time to come. The Precentor (age 44) probably has ambitions to ‘go further’. Wherever he goes next, I would watch very carefully. I am reminded of a (now departed) Dean who effectively dismissed 3 Directors of Music during his long career.
Hopefully a very long way. South Georgia is nice at this time of year I’m told if you are cold and heartless.
Or a penguin…!
God himself is no-nonsense. Those who pretend to represent him on earth work in misterious ways.
A gagging clause is a legal document, so someone (the Precentor or Dean) must have santioned this.
The travesty of this shambles is that whoever has, simply has no regard for the admirable professionalism and expertise of one of the finest church musicians in the country.
The amount of Cathedral Directors of Music & Organists resigning due to bullying from clerics who are being allowed to behave in such a destructive unchristian way beggars belief.
Every month we hear of some other poor professional musician who has been driven out by clergy who simply don’t respect the role of music in worship anymore.
When will this appalling behaviour stop or is it a conspiracy to remove church music altogether by our unsupportive Archbishops??
Hear, hear, Lapsed Organist. Many Cathedral Deans and Precentors are becoming a stain on the Church of England.
There is something unsavoury about NDAs. For example, if someone claims against a company for unfair dismissal or breach of contract, the company might offer a sum in settlement to the employee dependent upon their signing an NDA. Thus, the claimant, being the weaker party and probably without legal advice, is under pressure to accept the terms for fear that, if the offer is declined, it will be withdrawn, leaving them with nothing. Unadvised claimants may not be aware of the likelihood that they might get far higher settlements if the case went to court and they had legal representation.
The unadvised client may not be aware that any costs for legal representation might be mitigated by a Conditional Fee Agreement, under which, if the claimant were to win, the lawyer would get a certain percentage of the winnings and if not, the claimant pays nothing other than certain administrative costs. The terms for the CFA must be clearly stated to the client before it’s signed and it might prove a viable option for having legal advice.
On the other hand, if the unadvised claimant felt pressurised to sign the NDA and accept the settlement, the company would not only be protected from disclosure of any disreputable practices that led to the unfair dismissal; they could also get away with paying the claimant below the odds.
NDAs undermine the principle that justice should not only be done – it should be seen to be done. They are intimidatory and deny the fundamental principle of transparency that is a feature of the legal systems of free countries. I am not a lawyer but there have been suggestions that NDAs are not always enforceable. Is there a music-loving lawyer on SD who could comment?
Whilst I respect the right for others to comment via a thumbs down you need to understand that as the father of someone who was bullied out of his chosen career by this man and the damage his actions caused anywhere on the planet is too close.
Am I right in thinking that NDAs are legally unenforceable?
A Settlement Agreement is not enforceable unless the departing employee certifies that he has been professionally advised.
Going to court, or a tribunal, is often a very unpleasant experience for those on both sides. And often costly to everyone. And the claims and revelations can do lasting damage to both sides. It is often better to go to a settlement.
Human nature is funny, and those in the right and in the wrong can both start reinterpreting what happened, and rethinking their memories of it. And as time passes, it gets worse and more intractable. While they may sometimes be misused, NDAs can also be a way of getting both sides to move on.
Given that the Post Office’s ex-CEO Paula Vennells was once shortlisted to be Bishop of London despite suggestions of wrongful postmasters’ prosecutions being already known about, does anything about the Church of England cause surprise or shock anymore?
No, John Harmar Smith, it does not.
It is disgraceful that the Church should employ Non-Disclosure Agreements in any situation. This is a matter in which the Government should be speedily nvolved; clearly the administration of the Church of England has been captured by very dangerous people, who do not understand how a public body should behave. I urge all those in the Cathedral of Winchester to tell the truth.
And here is the “strategy”, as recently posted on social media: https://www.facebook.com/share/KSgTtBfabLh7iSN2/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Can you check the link ? It seems to be unavailable (for me, anyway).
It appears to have been removed…
Let’s not split hairs here, we all know the current Precentor [redacted]. As “Recusant” said it is a known fact that Dr. Lumsden has been a victim of an internal vendetta and the cathedral will lose out for this. They are losing the best cathedral music director and choir master in the country. I shan’t be attending evensong half as frequently once Dr. Lumsden is gone. I pray he finds a superior opportunity working within a cathedral that treat him with the respect and loyalty he has worked so hard to deserve