A religious organisation has been assured that new laws will not prevent it sacking staff who do not share its beliefs.

The Newcastle charity, the Christian Institute, is worried about a proposed EU Employment Directive that would ban discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or sexual orientation.

The institute fears it would be unable to dismiss any church worker who abandoned his faith, became an atheist or Satanist or who left a spouse to start a homosexual relationship.

But Stewart Hill, of North-East employment law specialist Stefan Cross, said the directive would have little impact in Britain.

"There are no proposals at all that would interfere with employers' rights to dismiss people," he said. "The only difference is that some of the reasons whereby employers can avoid paying compensation are going to be removed.''

Mr Hill said there was a "powerful myth'' that the law prevented employers from sacking people.

"The essential law in this country, unlike many countries in Europe, is if an employer behaves in a totally unjustifiable manner in sacking someone, they might be required to pay compensation,'' he said.

The Government has not decided yet whether to implement the directive.