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Igloo Won't Pay For Your Meat Expenses

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Whilst my employment law knowledge is pretty rusty and I will be happy to be corrected by my fellow legal colleagues - surely there has to be legalities at play here.

 

Client functions and food provided directly by the employer is one thing but if that employer is sending their staff out on regular trips away from their usual workplace and particularly overnight stays I am pretty sure that there are clear laws about such employee being able to claim back their expenses for meals.

 

It is certainly pretty arguable that alcohol may not be entitled within any expense policy but I really find it difficult to believe that they have any legal right to debar an employee who is forced to work away from home from freely choosing whatever category of food they wish to eat.

 

Just imagine a scenario if this company had an employee who was extremely fussy eater and chose to only ever eat Big Macs.  Is it really feasible that company will be so stuck to their vegan/veggie principles that the employee would be left with no choice but to fund their own food or starve.

 

I'm certainly very interested to see a test case on this and will love to see how the employer would hold their ground.

Edited by ECCOnoob

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3 hours ago, West 77 said:

By Igloo's own admission it's a pro vegetarian policy which has nothing to do with expenses.  Of course it's discrimination because meat eaters aren't allowed to choose what they want to eat at Igloo's expense while working when vegetarian only eaters are allowed to choose what they want to eat at Igloo's expense while working.

There is no discrimination.


Meat eaters aren’t allowed to charge meat to expenses.

 

Likewise, non meat eaters aren’t allowed to charge meat to expenses.

 

That seems pretty non-discriminatory to me.

 

Anyway, if you fancy a laugh, wrap your (vegan) mince pies around this froth:

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/19/not-meat-eaters-need-morality-check-vegans/

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You can spot the people in this thread who've never worked away for weeks at a time and claimed expenses for food, accomodation and travel. If I'm being sent to somewhere like the USA or Japan for work, I'm paying for my own food up front (or it's going on a company credit card), and whilst I accept that my expenses will be paid for food within reason (i.e. a cost per meal per day) what I eat and where I eat is my business.

 

I assume that Igloo staff expenses are only claims for lunchtime sandwiches and drinks when showing a client a property rather than for any prolonged period of time.

Edited by the_bloke

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On 19/02/2020 at 10:51, L00b said:

 

It's just imbecilic virtue-signalling. But hey, it's their business right to do so, and the markets (employment, customers) will decide, as always.

Well it's not their right. In my case if they tried that they would walk straight into a Equality Act minefield as soon as they imposed it...

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Guest makapaka
23 hours ago, West 77 said:

We all know a business wouldn't get away with having an anti vegetarian policy which only reimbursed  employees who only eat meat.  If Igloo had a policy of not paying for Vegetarian or Vegan meal expenses then there would be uproar because the minority would be discriminated against 

Yes because that would prevent a vegetarian / vegan from getting anything wouldn’t it? But that’s not the case in the reverse.

19 hours ago, Obelix said:

Well it's not their right. In my case if they tried that they would walk straight into a Equality Act minefield as soon as they imposed it...

Of course it’s their right.

 

the same as they can say they won’t reimburse for fags,  or balloons, or coat hangers etc

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On 19/02/2020 at 19:38, makapaka said:

I would say the opposite - and that if you think discrimination is an employer making people eat vegetarian foods when they are using the employers money to fund it - you don’t understand the definition.

 

theyre not refusing anybody the right to eat on their expense - only that it’s in line with their policy.

 

its like accusing a vegetarian restaurant of being discriminatory. It’s just not.

I think you will find it absolutely is discrimination towards carnivores .

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Guest makapaka
33 minutes ago, jonnyhonda said:

I think you will find it absolutely is discrimination towards carnivores .

Humans are omnivorous.

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"However, the UK's TUC trade union body said at the time that employees "should not be left out of pocket if they choose to eat meat".

 

Mark McWilliams, senior associate in law firm Kingsley Napley's employment team, says Igloo Regeneration's meat free policy "may raise a few eyebrows" but that "a dynamic workforce is more likely to be inspired by it than to complain about it".

He added: "I would certainly be concerned about discrimination if an employer was not providing food for their vegetarian staff."

 

So from reading the above, I'm guessing that nobody has actually decided to put a legal challenge in - yet?  Clearly the TUC look like they're up for taking up a challenge on a union member's behalf?

 

Looking at the report the company is clearly staffed by younger employees, who were happy to go along with the consensus; there were only a "Few dissenters."  It would only take one to put a legal challenge in & it'd be interesting to see what the judgement would be? 

 

I'd say the younger the employee, the less chance they'd want to rock the boat but in the long run, the company would attract workers who had similar values?

 

I'd like to be in on their interview sessions though.  You can imagine at some point that an interviewee, having been turned down for a job will claim it was because they'd made it clear that they were a meat eater? 

Edited by Baron99

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Guest makapaka
1 minute ago, Baron99 said:

"However, the UK's TUC trade union body said at the time that employees "should not be left out of pocket if they choose to eat meat".

 

Mark McWilliams, senior associate in law firm Kingsley Napley's employment team, says Igloo Regeneration's meat free policy "may raise a few eyebrows" but that "a dynamic workforce is more likely to be inspired by it than to complain about it".

He added: "I would certainly be concerned about discrimination if an employer was not providing food for their vegetarian staff."

 

So from reading the above, I'm guessing that nobody has actually decided to put a legal challenge in - yet?  

 

Looking at the report the company is clearly staffed by younger employees, who were happy to go along with the consensus; there were only a "Few dissenters."  It would only take one to put a legal challenge in & it'd be interesting to see what the judgement would be? 

 

I'd say the younger the employee, the less chance they'd want to rock the boat but in the long run, the company would attract workers who had similar values?

 

I'd like to be in on their interview sessions though.  You can imagine at some point that an interviewee, having been turned down for a job will claim it was because they'd made it clear that they were a meat eater? 

They’re not recruiting on the basis that someone is or isn’t a meat eater - what are you on about?

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33 minutes ago, makapaka said:

They’re not recruiting on the basis that someone is or isn’t a meat eater - what are you on about?

Read my post; 

 

"I'd like to be in on their interview sessions though.  You can imagine at some point that an interviewee, having been turned down for a job will CLAIM it was because they'd made it clear that they were a meat eater? '

 

I didn't state they were discriminating against meat eaters but the company has put themselves out their now, clearly indicating, however subtly, that they do not support the meat industry or anyone purchasing products from it. 

 

Edited by Baron99

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 I thought our culture was a democracy rather than a dictatorship. Why are people who enjoy a healthy balanced diet having an employer impose their company ethos on their personal choice. I thought we were being encouraged to diversify and embrace all races/ sexual orientation/disability,  be more inclusive in the workplace. Then it's ok to dicriminate over people who eat meat. I don't think this is going to stand up in the real world and is purely and simply a publicity stunt. 

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32 minutes ago, rachelmum said:

 I thought our culture was a democracy rather than a dictatorship. Why are people who enjoy a healthy balanced diet having an employer impose their company ethos on their personal choice. I thought we were being encouraged to diversify and embrace all races/ sexual orientation/disability,  be more inclusive in the workplace. Then it's ok to dicriminate over people who eat meat. I don't think this is going to stand up in the real world and is purely and simply a publicity stunt. 

Further to my earlier post, as stated, nobody has actually challenged the company legally on this matter. 

 

The 2010 Equality Act covers many areas of discrimination, both direct & indirect.  I don't think it would take a lawyer long to find a part that proves the company is discriminating against refusing to pay the expenses of employees who want to eat meat products? 

Edited by Baron99

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