Claiming to be a “non-feminist” at work is an act of discrimination, an employment tribunal has ruled.

An Environment Agency (EA) manager who claimed he was forced out of his job because of his views had his claim dismissed as a judge said not agreeing with equality and diversity in the workplace is a “questionable” belief that conflicts with the rights of colleagues.

Ruling against Kevin Legge, employment judge Robin Postle, who chaired the tribunal, suggested holding such views could be in breach of equality laws.

Mr Legge had alleged he lost his job after resisting what he claimed was his female boss’s agenda to promote women rather than men.

The father of one, who worked at the agency for 16 years, argued feminism is a belief system that he does not adhere to and that as a result he was treated less fairly by his manager before being sacked.

Claimant ordered to pay £20,000 of employers’ costs

However, the tribunal found he had behaved “unreasonably” and ordered him to pay £20,000 of the agency’s £106,000 legal costs.

“The tribunal were slightly perplexed by [Mr Legge’s] philosophical belief being a non-feminist,” the judge said. “It would appear to the tribunal a feminist is simply about all genders having equal rights and opportunities as men.

“Something the EA strived to achieve is an inclusive workforce and still maintaining the best candidate for the roles. It is an aspiration that the workforce fully reflects the diversity of the society it seeks to serve.”

Judge Postle said the tribunal accepted that Mr Legge genuinely believed in non-feminism, but added: “Whether his belief is weighty and can be described as a substantial aspect of human life is … questionable.  Likewise, on the question of attaining a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance.

“It is certainly not worthy of respect, or compatible with human dignity and does conflict with the rights of others. In fact, the tribunal felt that his maintaining his non-feminist view was in fact discriminatory in itself.”

Mr Legge took the EA to a tribunal in 2022 claiming discrimination based on a philosophical belief, sex discrimination, victimisation and unfair dismissal.

But his former employers argued he had been sacked for moonlighting as a counsellor when he was supposed to be working full-time for them.

Bosses said sacking was for ‘moonlighting’

The tribunal in Norwich was told Mr Legge joined the agency as a technical manager in 2005. But in 2019 he clashed with his boss Joanna Larmour, now the head of the EA’s National Enforcement Service.

Mr Legge – who was based in Peterborough, Cambs – claimed he refused “to do (their) bidding by favouring women over men in recruitment or promotion”.

The tribunal was told he raised a grievance against his employers about his treatment in May 2020.

But the EA later launched disciplinary proceedings against him and he was dismissed for dishonesty in April 2021.

The hearing was told that among other alleged misconduct, he had been working as a counsellor during working hours’.

The agency said he committed fraud by claiming a full-time salary while taking time off during the working day to provide counselling sessions.

The tribunal found the dismissal of Mr Legge, who represented himself during proceedings, had nothing to do with his non-feminist beliefs and said he had been the “author of his own downfall”.

“All the [EA’s] witnesses gave clear and cogent evidence that whilst they supported equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, they do not accept feminism in the way the [Mr Legge] describes that, or that there is some agenda or conspiracy from higher management to remove males from management positions, or have in some way been looking to appoint females at every opportunity,” it said.

“There has been a clear absence throughout the allegations of any real substantial evidential basis which links [Mr Legge’s] treatment to his sex or non-belief.”

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