ERA rules Bread of Life Church pastor Xi Chen to be reinstated on an interim basis

Bread of Life Christian Church pastor Xi Chen has taken a grievance to the Employment Relations Authority.

A senior pastor whose church refused to pay him for more than a year has won the right to be formally reinstated to the role on an interim basis.

Xi Chen, the pastor of the Bread of Life Christian Church in Auckland, is currently embroiled in a High Court dispute with three of the six trustees of the North Shore church over the use of millions of dollars in donations made by its congregation.

Around $2 million of that money was initially earmarked to build a new place of worship but after Chen assumed power last year with the blessing of the “mother church” based in Taipei, he announced he planned to sell the site intended for the new build and purchase a different one.

However, the move didn’t sit well with the three trustees who opposed him and one of them, Julia Buhagiar, subsequently stopped paying his salary for more than a year.

Chen continued working but without pay and eventually turned to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) alleging he had been unjustifiably dismissed.

In a determination released last week, the ERA ordered that he is to be reinstated to the role on an interim basis.

It’s a decision the Buhagiar says the Church now plans to appeal.

The authority said in its decision that Buhagiar, the church’s treasurer, had effectively fired Chen without cause.

It also questioned the church’s financial records and her claim there was no money available to pay him.

“If the church’s funds have been inappropriately depleted then the church should address that as a matter of urgency,” the authority said in its decision.

Chen told the ERA he was working without pay as his role as pastor was more than just a job to him.

A building on Apollo Dr, Rosedale, purchased by the Bread of Life Christian Church with donations from the congregation.

“Mr Chen sees his role as him answering God’s call to dedicate the rest of his life to the Church. He is the only Pastor at the Church, so he feels it is his responsibility to continue to support the congregation,” it noted.

The trustees who oppose Chen do so “vehemently” and their evidence to the authority was that they ceased paying him on the basis his employment agreement had expired and that he had in effect never been a full employee anyway.

The authority dismissed those claims and said there was clear evidence to show Chen was an employee including signed contracts, tax deductions and allocation of leave, which all indicated lawful employment.

“Such a position appeared to fly in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, so it raises the question about whether or not the three trustees who oppose Mr Chen have been acting consistently with the duty of fidelity they have to the respondent in their role as trustees,” the decision stated.

The authority noted the selection process to employ a pastor was a spiritual calling rather than a traditional appointment “because all pastors must have a calling from God”.

“They must also be nominated by church leaders, their nomination must be confirmed through prayer, and they are anointed by the Mother Church [or its representatives] to become formerly ordained as a Minister, at which time they commit to serve God and the church.”

Resisting his return

In its ruling, the authority said Chen took all the necessary steps to transition from an unpaid preacher to a salaried pastor role and was then promoted to senior pastor in 2021.

“From a spiritual point of view, Mr Chen was called by God to serve a higher purpose as a pastor and to lead the church’s congregation, and he did that by obtaining approval from the church and the Mother Church,” it said.

“The respondent [the opposing trustees] treated Mr Chen as if it employed him. It paid him. It stopped his salary. It allegedly decided his employment should end. It is apparently resisting his return to work.”

The authority said the failure to pay an employee and to recognise the employment relationship constituted a dismissal and was a failure to act in good faith.

“The position adopted by the opposing trustees appears very weak. They have given retrospective and conflicting explanations for stopping Mr Chen’s salary, none of which appear credible or to have merit,” the decision stated.

“The authority is concerned about the attitude and approach adopted to date by the three opposing trustees. This suggested they may continue to strongly resist Mr Chen’s reinstatement, so the authority is concerned they may either individually or together work to undermine Mr Chen and his interim reinstatement.”

The decision said Chen’s full reinstatement was to occur within seven days of the date of the determination and his next salary payment was to be backdated to that same date.

If his return was resisted, Chen was given leave to contact the authority on an urgent basis. It also suggested the trustees may need to be replaced if they failed to co-operate.

This story has been changed to reflect the fact Chen’s reinstatement is on an interim basis and that his pay is only backdated to the date of the determination, not the entire time he was without pay.

Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.