IF YOU don’t share the religious ethos of the university you work for, you could be for the chop.

Universities with Church of England foundations have been told to emphasise their Christian credentials to make it easier to dismiss staff who don’t share those values, reports The Times Higher Education Supplement (Oct 19).

Advice from the Council of Church Colleges and Universities tells universities to mention their Christian ethos in employment contracts so that staff who “openly flout” their ideals can be said to be in breach of contract.

It is thought that the rules are most likely to affect senior staff, chaplains and teachers of theology.

“If an employee acts in a way that is detrimental to the employer, by openly flouting the ethos . . . it may be possible to conclude that there has been a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence,” the advice adds.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, says that the advice is deeply disturbing.

“This report obliquely suggests ways of ensuring that some positions are not held by those whose lifestyle is at odds with some Christian doctrine, presumably in terms of sexual orientation, attitudes to abortion and maybe even to marriage.”

Requiring employees to hold particular religious beliefs would normally breach employment rules, but if a university can establish a “genuine occupational requirement”, employers could discriminate on religious grounds where there is a genuine need for the person to have certain beliefs.

The guide is targeted at universities such as Chichester, Canterbury Christ Church, Gloucestershire, Winchester and York St John.

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