A case brought by a vegan employee tests the boundaries of the Equality Act 2010.
Partner and Head of Employment and Data Protection, Chris Cook writes in HR Magazine regarding the recent case brought by Jordi Casamitjana against the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS).
Casamitjana claims he was dismissed after raising concerns that LACS invested pension funds in companies involved in animal testing. He alleges that he was discriminated against on the basis of his ethical vegan beliefs; this is veganism where the decision not to eat or use animal produce is an ethical choice rather than a health or dietary issue. However, LACS has stated that Casamitjana was dismissed for gross misconduct and failing to follow express management instructions. It vehemently denies that his dismissal was in any way linked to veganism.
Chris states that "Veganism is not a protected characteristic in its own right under the Equality Act, so Casamitjana first needs to have it recognised as such in order to succeed in his claim".
Find out more about this first-of-its-kind case and what the next steps are.
Click here to read Chris' article in full.
