The Spiritual Workers Association came out of the original campaign by Carole and David McEntee-Taylor and Ian Jones to try and prevent the Repeal of the Fraudulent Mediums Act. Since then we have been joined by members and organisations from all over the world.
Whilst we are happy to work within the law as we are all law abiding individuals we still disagree with being classed in the same bracket as other traders. We look forward to one day discussing the issue with members of our goverment to change this law to something that better represents our unique industry. We simply think that the CPR law in relation to spiritual practices is unfit for purpose. So why are we objecting to the changes in legislation?
The Fraudulent Mediums Act gave statutory recognition to genuine mediumship, whilst Mediumship is part of the practice of the religion of Spiritualism. No other religion is being included in this new law which classes us as traders the same as any other service providing trader. We now come under the new Consumer Protection Regulations. So what does this actually mean?
First of all, if someone is not happy with any goods or service that they have paid out for, they have the right to ask for their money back and to complain to the Office of Fair Trading that they have not received the service they paid for. In extreme cases, an individual could misunderstand a message given to them in a psychic reading or by a medium. They could then argue that it has caused them to act in such a way that it has negatively affected their lives. As a result they could have legal recourse to take the spiritual person who provided the service to court over the matter to claim damages!
The difference with spiritual work is that it highly subjective. What may seem like a very general reading to one person may be excellent proof to the person who is receiving it. If you add to this the lack of real public education and knowledge about spiritualism and its practices then accusations of fraud could be very difficult to combat.
Our ultimate aim is to offer the public a credible organisation that gives them a list of members to choose from who they know will not set out to defraud them. In other words, spiritual workers they can trust. We also hope that one day the law can be changed to better work with the spiritual industry.
To achieve this we intend to offer both public and government an organisation with policies and working practices that are representative of the majority of spiritual workers and that is self regulating.
The term ‘Spiritual Worker’ as far as the SWA is concearned applies to all persons who in any capacity, whether professionally or voluntarily, offer any kind of mediumistic, psychic, holistic, spiritual, therapeutic, complementary or esoteric services to the public.
Under the new law, the goverment classes those of us who charge or recieve goods in exchange for services, as a Trader, in a sense a "worker" and we at the SWA , the Spiritual Workers Assocaition, want to ensure you have full representation as such.
You therefore need to make the decision as to whether you will charge for your services or receive goods or donations for your services or whether you will offer your services free of charge. If you offer your services free of charge then the goverment has no legal rights over you under the new law. However, individuals may still seek civil procedings against you should they feel a victim of malpractice.
If you are going to charge or receive goods as stated above then you should know that any income that is not taxed at source under the current laws needs to be declared to the Inland Revenue. If you are earning money or receiving goods etc as stated above, you should consider the possibilty of becoming self employed. It is worth noting that you can be employed and self employed at the same time and you will only need to pay taxes on any income that excedes a certain amount.
As you can see staying within the law and working within this industry could be very difficult. Our aim is to help you, the spirtual worker, to understand your rights and obligations and stay within the law.
We encourage you to join the SWA Guild and become a full member and take advantage of the services we are offering.
But what is a guild? A guild is simply an association of craftsman in a particular trade, in our case, the spiritual trade. The earliest guilds were formed as fraternities of workers and that is what the SWA are trying to achieve, a Guild of Spiritual Workers.
However, just because you charge, you do not have to join. It is entirely up to you. Just be aware that the law clases you as a trader and you will need to work within the law the same as any other trader. We are simply here to help you.
We intend to work closely with all government bodies to ensure we have the most up to date information and advice for you. We eventually intend to enter into discussions with the OFT to discuss the development of a Code of Practice for spiritual workers so that we can represent you, the spiritual worker, even better.
The SWA is offering you choice and it is your choice to decide whether you want to join as a paying member and take advantage of the benefits it will offer. If you do not feel you would gain from becoming a member but still want to join us you can still become a Friend of the SWA for free.
Thank you