The Rev Allan MacDonald – who was a minister at Farr, near Inverness – attempted to take the Free Presbyterian Church to a tribunal, arguing it unfairly sacked him, but the church said he was carrying out his "calling to God" and was not an employee.

An Inverness tribunal ruled Mr MacDonald's obligations as a minister were to the people of his congregation and not the Free Presbyterian Church and rejected his claim.

The tribunal further accepted it could not impose a legal relationship on members of a church which would be contrary to their religious beliefs.

Mr MacDonald raised the tribunal action following a row over his controversial book Veritatem Eme – Buy the Truth, published three years ago.

Mr MacDonald, who was ordained and inducted at Farr in 2001, received a manse from the congregation and was paid travelling expenses.

He received the full stipend from the church and became a member of its pension scheme. The congregation paid his national insurance contributions.

He was suspended in January 2007 and at a meeting last June it was decided he was to vacate the manse by November.

However, the tribunal concluded Mr MacDonald was an office-holder by virtue of his ordination rather than an employee. His rights and duties were defined by the office he held, not by any contract.

In his judgment, employment judge Roderick MacKenzie concluded Mr MacDonald's promises at his ordination related to his work within the Farr congregation and not to his work with the Free Presbyterian Church. He concluded Mr MacDonald was not an employee and therefore his unfair dismissal claim could not proceed.

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