Debate sparked as employer demands employees be 'strictly vegan' at work

When you apply for a job, there's a bunch of stuff you've got to consider, like do you have the required experience and do you live close enough for the commute?

One thing you wouldn't expect to be on that list, however, is your diet.

But as one job hunter discovered much to their surprise, it can be a real deal breaker for some employers.

Takin to Reddit - obvs - to share their tale, the hopeful applicant shared the email they received from the company about particular requirements they had for would-be employees.

They captioned the post: "Applied for a job, received this in an email. Can they really force this upon me or not hire be based on this??"

Within the redacted email, it stipulated that any employee would have to follow a strict vegan diet while at work.

Reddit/Reezeyyy

It read: "Hello, thanks for your applications. To help us shortlist, please reply to the following questions.

"Our workplaces are strictly vegan. You do not have to be vegan away from work, but you do need to bring vegan lunch and have plant milks to eat on site or each lunch off site.

"Can you confirm you are fine with this?"

Unsurprisingly, the email sparked quite the debate, with plenty of people unsure as to whether or not an employer was allowed to dictate a worker's diet like this.

"It's none of their business what you prefer to eat," said one.

"The only way I could understand this is if it's a vegan cafe or grocery store and they're worried about allergens or something," put another. "And even that is a hell of a stretch. For any other kind of job this is weird."

While someone else suggested: "Doesn’t sound like you and that job are a good fit."

Daisy-Daisy/Alamy

Replying to one comment, the original poster said that the job in question was at a 'dog rescue centre', though he assured people that he was 'not eating dogs'.

They added: "I think you definitely can eat meat and say you care about animals."

In response to the actual question, others explained that employers were well within their rights to demand workers not eat certain foods while on shift.

"Yes, they can not hire you over this," said one user.

"There are specific characteristics they cannot base a hiring decision on… gender, religion, ethnic origin, etc… but your dietary choice is not a protected class.

"If they want to hire on that basis, they are free to do so."