‘Ethical vegan’ begins legal battle to protect veganism in law
Landmark UK case involves the claim he was discriminated against because of his beliefs
An “ethical vegan”, who claims he was sacked for his beliefs, has begun a landmark legal battle this week to try to protect veganism in law.
Jordi Casamitjana claimed he was dismissed from animal charity the League Against Cruel Sports in 2018 after telling colleagues their pension funds were invested in companies involved in animal testing, in a decision he said was discriminatory.
The organisation sacked him for “gross misconduct” after alleging he had given his colleagues biased financial advice in relation to their workplace pensions, against management’s instructions.
But Mr Casamitjana is pursuing a claim that he was discriminated against because of his veganism and unlawful dismissal on the basis of his ethical beliefs.
The former head of policy and research at the League Against Cruel Sports will first attempt to persuade a Norwich employment tribunal that veganism should be protected as a “philosophical belief” under the Equality Act 2010.
The two-day tribunal, which started on Thursday, will have 90 days to consider its decision. It is the first of a two-stage hearing: the tribunal will subsequently hear Mr Casamitjana’s claim for unlawful dismissal
The hearing follows an earlier, similar case brought by vegetarian George Conisbee, which was dismissed by a tribunal last year.
In that hearing Mr Conisbee, who had resigned his job as a hotel waiter, claimed he was discriminated against by his colleagues because of his vegetarianism. But the tribunal ruled that vegetarianism was an opinion, not a belief, and not worthy of protection under the 2010 Act.
The tribunal left the door open for a different finding for veganism, however, ruling that while vegetarians often cited different factors for their lifestyle choice “the reasons for being a vegan appear to be largely the same”.
Richard Fox, an employment partner at law firm Kingsley Napley, said that if Mr Casamitjana was successful it would establish new case law and give vegans recourse to call on the 2010 Act if they felt they were being discriminated against in the workplace. But Mr Fox added that he expected any ruling to be appealed.
“This is a big issue so it seems likely it will be appealed, particularly if what is decided is seen as unpopular and there is an outcry,” he said.
Ethical vegans avoid all forms of animal harm and exploitation, for example by eschewing leather clothing and products derived from animal testing. Mr Casamitjana uses vegan friendly toothpaste and sleeps on bedding made of synthetic fibres, linen or bamboo. He also tries to avoid public transport in case any animals or insects are killed during his journey.
Mr Casamitjana’s lawyers are using previous case law in an attempt to prove that ethical veganism is “worthy of respect in a democratic society . . . [and] compatible with human dignity and not in conflict with the rights of others”, according to documents filed with the tribunal.
His former employer does not dispute that veganism should have protected status, but is disputing his claim that he was unlawfully dismissed.
In a statement the charity said: “The League Against Cruel Sports is an inclusive employer and as this is a hearing to decide whether veganism should be a protected status, something which the League does not contest, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”