The staff at one of the country’s best-known Christian bookshops have resigned en mass in a dispute over new contracts in which they were asked to work on Sundays and do cleaning duties. All seven employees at the SPCK bookshop in Exeter handed in their notice and worked their last day on Saturday. The store, which specialises in Christian literature and has been established for 47 years, is one of 23 in a chain which was last year acquired by the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust.

SPCK Bookshops is the oldest continuously operating non-church Christian charity in the world and has been in book selling and publishing for more than 300 years. The St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust is run by two American brothers, Mark and Philip Brewer, who are Eastern Orthodox Christians. According to the Church Times, 11 of the shops are without a manager, and no job vacancies have been advertised on its website. The sale of the Koran has been banned and strict guidelines have been issued about working practices, including stock ordering.

Staff were told speaking to the press could be a sackable offence. A regular customer of the SPCK shop said the staff were “demoralised”.

“It’s one of the only bookshops in the area that keeps serious theological books. Exeter is going to potentially lose a really valuable resource. It’s a key shop in the city.” A current worker at the shop, who asked not to be named, said: “The shop is not closing. It’s just existing staff who are going. We would like to thank all of our loyal customers. We are sorry to be saying goodbye to them.”

But another staff member said: “I would have had to be mad to sign this new contract. I’m off.” He said he was fortunate to have another job to go to. Mark Brewer, of the St Stephen the Great Charitable Trust, said: “Saint Stephen the Great is in a period of consultation in relation to a new contract for the employees at the SPCK Bookshops....As the consultation process has not been completed, no new contract has been agreed. The new contracts, which will conform to UK employment legislation, are designed to create the flexibility that will allow us to ensure all our shops are able to continue trading and fulfill our charitable objects.

“The SPCK Bookshops are part of a Christian charity. Each operates in an increasingly competitive environment. However, not only is there no intention of closing any of our shops as some have claimed, the charity stands committed to keeping them open into the foreseeable future and to continuing to serve our loyal customers in the U.K. We ask for their support as we do so.”