The League Against Cruel Sports has shifted its default pension fund into an ethical fund, after settling an unfair dismissal case against Jodi Casamitjana.

Casamitjana's case claimed that he was fired by the league after highlighting that its pension scheme was investing in firms that were involved in animal testing.

This prompted a ‘landmark’ case that declared veganism to be an ethical belief and therefore protected by law, though this was judged separately from the unfair dismissal case.

Following a review of the circumstances, the league stated that Casamitjana had not done anything wrong by communicating with his colleagues on the topic of their pension investments.

The league’s statement read: "As has been the subject of extensive media coverage, between 2018 and 2020 we were involved in Employment Tribunal litigation brought by our former employee Jordi Casamitjana.

"We are happy to make clear that Mr Casamitjana was a very valued employee of the League during the two periods he worked with us, showing a great deal of professionalism, expertise and commitment to the protection of animals.

"The only reason for the dismissal of Mr Casamitjana in 2018 was his communications to his colleagues in relation to our pension arrangements. Having revisited the issue we now accept that Mr Casamitjana did nothing wrong with such communications, which were motivated by his belief in ethical veganism.

"We are grateful to Mr Casamitjana for having raised the issue of pensions to us, which allowed us to change our default pension fund to an ethical one closer to our values."

The Vegan Society recently also published suggested guidelines, to help businesses support their vegan staff.

Whilst the guidelines include standard recommendations such as colour-coded kitchen equipment and meat-free areas, they have also encouraged businesses to give staff a chance to hold discussions about vegan-friendly pension options.

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