Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

RetailBelief discriminationDisability discriminationLatest NewsEmployment tribunals

Dismissed Lidl worker claims to follow ancient Hellenistic philosophy

by Adam McCulloch 24 Sep 2020
by Adam McCulloch 24 Sep 2020 Zeno of Citium/Lidl.
Photo: Shutterstock
Zeno of Citium/Lidl.
Photo: Shutterstock

An employment judge has ruled that Stoicism – a Hellenistic philosophy from the third century BC – is a protected characteristic as he considered the case of a former Lidl supermarket worker who was sacked after offending colleagues.

Communications worker Samuel Jackson argued that his philosophical beliefs, formulated by Zeno of Citium in around 300BC and taught in ancient Athens, meant he must adhere to the truth without fear of offending other people.

Judge Simon Cheetham, at Croydon employment tribunal in south London, agreed that Stoicism was a belief protected under the Equality Act 2000, and allowed Mr Jackson’s discrimination claim to proceed to the next stage.

Employment tribunals

Train guard sacked for ‘shooting his mouth off’ was unfairly dismissed

All employment tribunal stories at Personnel Today

Average wait time for tribunal stands at nine months, claim lawyers

More employment tribunals to go virtual in raft of changes

Increase tribunal time limit to six months, say lawyers

Mr Jackson told the hearing, held virtually over two days this month, that his Stoic beliefs meant he was bound to say what he liked, no matter how offensive, without moral or ethical repercussions. However, he had been sacked after saying that “Asians were greasy” and for failing to “apologise sufficiently”, his managers at Lidl not being overly impressed by his ancient beliefs.

The claimant explained to the tribunal: “The realisation that the consequence of what I say would cause offence would not stop me from saying it.”

The judge agreed with Mr Jackson’s description of himself as “not being a consequentialist, by which he meant that the consequences of what he says or does would not prevent him from saying or doing that thing”.

Stoicism was “just one of innumerable schools of thought attempting to answer the most profound questions”, he added. He said Mr Jackson had “demonstrated this through his contextualisation of Stoicism alongside the major religions”.

“I found him to be a truthful witness,” the judge concluded.

Mr Jackson is also claiming against Lidl for disability discrimination. He said that he was dyslexic so “mixed up his words” and could not properly apologise. His application to be treated as a disabled person was also successful.

However, the judge dismissed Mr Jackson’s claims of direct disability discrimination and direct discrimination because of religion or belief as having “no reasonable prospect of success”.

The tribunal allowed claims of indirect belief and disability discrimination to proceed to a full hearing. A date for the final hearing in which the claims will be heard is yet to be set.

According to the Stamford encyclopedia of philosophy, Stoics held that emotions like fear or envy (or passionate love of anything) were false judgements and that the sage – a person who had attained moral and intellectual perfection – would not undergo them. The encyclopedia states: “Though it seems clear that some Stoics took a kind of perverse joy in advocating views which seem so at odds with common sense, they did not do so simply to shock.”

Unfortunately, the court will of course be unable to draw on Zeno of Citium’s views of Mr Jackson’s case.

Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more human resources jobs

Adam McCulloch
Adam McCulloch

Adam McCulloch is a freelance writer and production editor who has worked in sectors including travel (The Guardian), aviation (Flight International), agriculture (Farmers' Weekly), music (Jazzwise), theatre (The Stage) and social work (Community Care). He also works for a national newspaper and is the author of KentWalksNearLondon

previous post
Pay freezes take hold as median award hits zero
next post
Facing an annual leave backlog? Employers’ questions answered

6 comments

Avatar
Labour Lawyer 24 Sep 2020 - 1:18 pm

How strange if a follower of Zeno turns out to be xenophobic!

Reply
Avatar
Matthew 25 Sep 2020 - 4:45 pm

His actions go against the stoic principal, ‘Only say what’s not better left unsaid’ and the core virtue of kindness. He does not know Stoicism at all.

Reply
Avatar
Seneca 25 Sep 2020 - 7:26 pm

This guy is not a stoic. Stoics believe silence is golden. That one should only speak generally only if necessary. That doesn’t sound like a necessary thing to say. He’s just using it as an excuse to be rude. Stoics also believe in doing intense reflection and working on oneself daily to pursue excellence and the highest version of oneself. Again he is missing the mark. Lastly stoics believe in taking responsibility which again looks like he is not doing that either.

Reply
Avatar
Stoic-ish 26 Sep 2020 - 8:58 am

Sounds like that lad might have failed to grasp some very basic principles of Stoicism.

Reply
Avatar
kojo Amonoo 26 Sep 2020 - 9:54 am

Hiding behind the ancient teachings of Zeno or any ancient teaching, for that matter, to spout off racist, xenophobic and misogynist is not acceptable and certainly, must not be inconsequential!.

Reply
Avatar
JB Bell 30 Sep 2020 - 12:54 am

I’m Canadian and not versed in UK law . . . I assume “indirect discrimination” means that they would be found to discriminate, but not as a matter of policy and maybe not even on purpose. Will barristers be able to argue whether this guy is at all correct in the beliefs he holds–that is, whether they are what he says they are? Surely even if your religion requires you to be a racist ass, other employee’s right to be free of racial harassment would win the day?

Also, as a practicing Stoic myself, this guy is what you call a “Broic”–using Stoicism to excuse his own anti-social, selfish bullshit. The philosophy may at times encourage going against the herd, but the highest duty is to humanity as a whole, and that means acting for the benefit of all. I’d like to see him justify how his racist behaviour does that.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

McColl’s administration puts 16,000 jobs at risk

6 May 2022

Youth collective to inform Body Shop strategy

6 May 2022

New law protects emergency and retail workers from...

4 May 2022

Foodservice group to create 32,000 new jobs

22 Apr 2022

Sainsbury’s increases wages for second time in four...

8 Apr 2022

Hiring activity in March 2022 began to stabilise

8 Apr 2022

H&M signs pledge to protect female workers in...

1 Apr 2022

Sainsbury’s discriminated against worker with brain injury, finds...

24 Mar 2022

B&Q and Screwfix pay to rise from April

22 Mar 2022

Rising cost of living prompts Currys hourly pay...

15 Mar 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

TOPICS

Economics, government & business
Employee Relations
Employment law
Equality & diversity
Global HR
HR practice
HR strategy
Learning & training
Occupational health
Pay & benefits
Recruitment & retention
HR Tech
Wellbeing
All HR topics

WHAT’S HOT

Apprenticeship levy
Brexit
Covid-19 coronavirus
Gender pay gap reporting
Gig economy
Holiday pay
HR tech
IR35
Immigration
People analytics
Zero-hours contracts

JOBS

Post a job
Why advertise with us?
Change Management
Compensation & Benefits
Diversity & Inclusion
Employee Relations
Employment Law
Health & Safety
HR (General)
HR Business Partner
HR Director
HR Consultant
HR Shared Services
HR Systems
People Analytics
Learning & Development
Training
Occupational Health
Organisational Development
Payroll
Performance & Engagement
Recruitment & Resourcing
Talent Management
Wellbeing
Workforce Planning

ABOUT

About Personnel Today
Contact us
Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022
RSS feeds
Advertising specifications
Email Newsletters
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards

Employee Benefits
Employee Benefits Awards
Employee Benefits Live

Forum for Expatriate Management

OHW+
OHW+ membership

Whatmedia

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+