Why vegan inclusion: 03. Minimise legal risks

Vegan inclusion in the workplace isn’t just ‘nice to have’, it’s a legal requirement. Businesses that don’t comply with the law will be in breach of legal duties and could face costly and damaging litigation.

A 2019 survey by Crossland Employment Solicitors found that nearly half of vegan employees had felt discriminated against by their employer and nearly a third had felt harassed or unfairly treated at work due to their veganism. Any of these examples could have been unlawful and given rise to litigation.

Discrimination and harassment of vegans in the workplace can be unlawful because veganism is a protected philosophical belief under both human rights and equality law. This means that employers are required to take steps to eliminate certain types of conduct in the workplace, including discrimination and harassment. This not only includes overt conduct such as bullying or direct discrimination, like deliberately excluding a vegan employee or terminating their employment because you don’t agree with their beliefs. It also includes indirect discrimination, which can happen when there is a policy or practice that applies to everyone, but the vegan suffers a detriment because of their vegan beliefs. Common examples include things like a restaurant providing a meal to all staff on shift but failing to provide a vegan option, or a uniform requirement that includes leather shoes and no vegan alternative is offered or considered.

Most businesses can make quick and easy changes and significantly reduce the risk of legal action and the adverse impact this can have on management time, the business’ reputation and the bottom line.

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