Home » HR practices » Professional development » Legal developments » National legislation » Great Britain: vegetarianism does not come within the framework of discrimination at work legislation Great Britain: vegetarianism does not come within the framework of discrimination at work legislation Through . Published on 19 September 2019 à 12h15 - Update on 19 September 2019 à 14h49 Resources A judge in the UK has ruled that from a legal perspective, vegetarians cannot be victims of discrimination vis-à-vis the law. The complaint, which was rejected by the employment tribunal at the start of September, came from a waiter who reproached his colleagues for making fun of his being a vegetarian when he was working in a hotel in 2018. According to the complainant, the colleagues’ attitude constituted discrimination because his dietary regimen should be considered as a religion or philosophical belief and as such come under the protection of the Equality Act 2010. The presiding judge ruled that vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice and not a philosophical belief, because there were many reasons why people choose to become vegetarians (health, environment, climate, taste, animal welfare…). Nonetheless the judge clarified that his decision could be different in the case of veganism because there was “a clear cogency and cohesion in vegan belief.” This phrase has however caused a commotion among employers who now expect to have to field a torrent of complaints if dietary specificities and other characteristics end up being included in the Equality Act 2010. Indeed a complaint over vegan-related discrimination was lodged in December 2018 and has not yet been addressed. Need more info ? Contact mind's on-demand study service Which service do you want to contact :WritingCommercial serviceTechnical SupportFirst name Last name Organization Function email* Object of the message Your messageRGPD J’accepte la politique de confidentialité.PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Essentials Les dernières publications Supporting parenthood in the workplace: a win-win strategy Supporting employee carers: a CSR challenge Analyzes Les dernières publications Paternity leave: data observations from 41 countries EU: during H1 2022 five EU Member States have raised their minimum salary levels