Fast fact: Did you know that workplace equality goes well beyond ensuring no one under your employ feels discriminated against due to the color of their skin, race, disabled status, age, sexual orientation, and still other characteristics and includes protected beliefs such as Rastafarianism and Paganism?Fast fact: Did you know that a claimant just won a battle with a former employer based on his belief in ethical veganism?Fast fact: Did you know that such rulings, be they recent or all the way back to 2010, can lead to huge financial losses for your small- to medium-sized business should you be found negligent?That said, the team at Elena Meshki & Co. pride themselves on staying on top of the latest changes to any laws or rulings that could result in massive compensation payouts that could negatively impact their clients standard and triple bottom lines.The firm also endeavours to help educate their customers and clientele so as to avoid expensive legal fees should an employee bring suit and request their day in court.Read on to learn more about veganism and other protected beliefs so that your service-oriented company never has to deduct expenses or operate at a loss due to religious, philosophical, or spiritual stances practice by employees under your employ.
With Veganuary drawing to a close, now is no better time to recap just what the non-profit stands for as well as introduce the beliefs behind ethical veganism.Regarding the latter, it is a non-profit that encourages people to try to only eat and imbibe vegan products for the month of January. The concept encourages and supports businesses as well as the voluntary masses to move to a plant-based diet so as to protect the environment, reduce animal suffering, and, arguable, improve the health of millions of people the world over.There is an important distinction, however, between veganism for health reasons and the most recent ruling on this idea of not harming animals or planet earth as addressed in the case between Casamitjana v The League Against Cruel Sports.The former was able to support his belief in veganism as protected, and which puts it on a par with certain religions, based on the serious role in which avoiding harm to animals played in his life. Thus, and in the ruling, the employer’s investment in a scheme for retirement purposes, but which support hare hunting and the like, placed them at odds with the belief system of the claimant and resulted in a costly payout.
Though some may roll their eyes at just such a ruling, the fact remains that the defendant will now have to not only pay out compensation to the claimant as well as cover their own (expensive!) legal fees, but also risk insolvency due to reinvestment needing to take place into new retirement schemes.As a small- to medium-sized business owner this can spell insolvency or, and still worse, bankruptcy should funds not be immediately available.Therefore, it is absolutely critical that owners know what their policies say and how to update them so as to avoid the escalation of any unwarranted legal situations.
The most obvious concern when it comes to the financial and tax situation of those firms seen as negatively promoting, either directly or indirectly, discrimanation, harassment, or victimisation of ethical vegans is being sued.In order to protect against these sudden fiscal losses followed by, no doubt, triple-bottom line reputational ‘debits’ employers and small-business owners should take a semi-active approach to educating their workforces while quickly updating their policies.Here’s how EM&CO can help.
1. Education: It is important to educate your workforce about ethical veganism, especially with the latest ruling taking center stage in the media.That said, do not ‘prime’ employees to look for ways to make their coworkers feel ‘other’, but, instead, take actionable steps by hiring different caterers or sourcing uniforms through a different, animal-friendly, supplier.What’s more, the team at EM&CO would encourage the business owner to see this review of current protected policy as a way to crack down on potential cost overruns and re-review the annual budget by asking whether there are lower-cost options available that also meet with other spiritual and religious concerns.2. Team up! Never go it alone when it comes to avoiding legal action regardless of whether it is brought forth by an ethical vegan or not!This is something EM&CO can do financially by helping the small business owner separate himself or herself from the business so as to avoid risking personal insolvency. Other tips would include working with the firm as well as a lawyer to update policies and to insure oneself against any future liabilities.Though this will be an immediate expense on any end-of-quarter budgetary reviews, it could pay for itself should an issue be discovered.In closing, as a sort of call to action, it is important to remember that the world of small business is particularly challenging, but should not be made overly so by failing to update policies that could lead to costly discrimation suits.That said, and as a small-business owner, it is important to surround yourself with highly professional firms that can help you not only avoid financial risk, but also legal uncertainty.And, who better than the team at EM&CO, which has the small owner-operator in mind when it comes to protecting all bottom line financials?Reach out to us should you have any concerns on the above topic, or others, on our website.
