‘Vegan OR Plant-Based’ firm forced to back down after discriminating against bacon lovers
The advertisement specifies ‘vegan or plant based’ referring to following a vegan diet, which alone is not a protected characteristic. To be classed as a philosophical belief, Ethical Veganism must apply to more than merely the person’s diet.
BERNY TORRE: A business that advertised for a “vegan or plant-based” accountant has been forced to back down. Vegan Accountants last month said bacon-lovers needn’t apply to join their firm in Chingford, east London. Boss Keith Lesser ducked “meaty” questions from the Daily Star asking if he was discriminating against non-vegans. The ad has been updated to “vegan friendly” after regulators were informed.
A spokeswoman for The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales said “we do not comment on individual companies”. But legal experts said Vegan Accountants risked being sued for discrimination if they couldn’t prove a meat-eating bean-counter couldn’t do the job. Slater and Gordon employment lawyer Doreen Reeves said: “An advertisement seeking a vegan-only accountant could potentially be unlawful direct discrimination.” She explained Ethical Veganism is covered by equality laws banning discrimination of “protected characteristics” like age and gender.
The lawyer said: “The advertisement specifies ‘vegan or plant based’ referring to following a vegan diet, which alone is not a protected characteristic. “To be classed as a philosophical belief Ethical Veganism must apply to more than merely the person’s diet, and should encompass their broader belief set”. Bosses could only specify workers have a protected characteristic in “exceptional circumstances”, she added: “The employer would have to show this job could only be completed by an Ethical Vegan”…
The founder of veganjobs.com Ben Braman said: “Employers have a right to ask their staff to be at least vegan-friendly in their conduct, not just to their fellow employees who are vegan but this should cross over to working with customers as well, where you wouldn’t want someone bashing veganism while serving vegan food for example”. SOURCE…
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