Jordi Casamitjana leaves an Employment Tribunal in Norwich after it ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief and is therefore protected by law (Picture: PA)

A man who claimed he was sacked over his views on animal rights has won his fight to have veganism declared a philosophical belief.

An employment tribunal judge in Norwich has ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief and is therefore protected by law.

Jordi Casamitjana, 55, said he was sacked by the League Against Cruel Sports after raising concerns that its pension fund was being invested into companies involved in animal testing.

He claims he was unfairly disciplined for making this disclosure and that the decision to dismiss him was because of his philosophical belief in ethical veganism.


Judge Robin Postle today said ethical veganism satisfies the tests required for it to be a philosophical belief and is therefore protected under the Equality Act 2010.



He also ruled that Mr Casamitjana, who lives in London, adheres to the belief of ethical veganism.

Ahead of the tribunal it was reported that he refuses to sit on leather sofas or take buses in case they hit insects.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Jordi Casamitjana said his ethical veganism was a philosophical belief

For a belief to be protected under the Act, it must meet a series of tests including being worthy of respect in a democratic society, not being incompatible with human dignity and not conflicting with fundamental rights of others.

The ruling means that ethical vegans are entitled to protection from discrimination.

Dietary vegans and ethical vegans both eat a plant-based diet, but ethical vegans also try to exclude all forms of animal exploitation including not wearing clothing made of wool or leather and not using products tested on animals.

When he initially brought the case, Mr Casamitjana said the hearing was not primarily about his dismissal, but about establishing ethical veganism as a philosophical belief.

He said: ‘Although the manner in which I was dismissed was intensely distressing for me, some good may come of it if I am able to establish this valuable protection for all ethical vegans.’

The League Against Cruel Sports argued it sacked Mr Casamitjana for ‘gross misconduct’.

In a statement to the BBC, it 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.’

Jordi told reporters outside the tribunal that his hearing is important for vegan’s around the world (Picture: PA)

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page.