Reform UK candidate sues City law firm for belief discrimination

[Redintoothandclaw]

Dan Cooper is trying to crowdfund £150K to pursue his claims for unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of belief against City law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, where he was a senior HR business partner.

He "was dismissed last year over posts which emerged after he announced he was trying to stand as a Reform UK candidate in council elections.
Cooper said his X handle did not mention his employment but stated he was anti-Islam and believed there are only two genders."

www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/reform-uk-candidate-pursues-dismissal-claim-against-city-firm/5127519.article?utm_source=gazette_newsletter&utm_medium

If he raises the money, it will be an interesting case.

And the grift carries on.
It’s the new grift that pays extremely well, be a racist transphobe (Sandie Peggie anyone) deliberately get fired or claim you got discriminated against and suddenly you’re very rich indeed. Just add a critical after whoever you hate and suddenly apparently it’s okay.

What grift @MashaPav ?

He doesn't want to be discriminated against for being anti Islam, but he wants to be free to discriminate against Muslims? The hypocrisy 🙄 these reform politicians will do literally anything for money. They are grifters and scammers and I haven't yet seen any evidence to the contrary for a single one of them.

I think you’ll find that Sandy won her case against her employers because they broke the LAW.

Men are not entitled BY LAW to use the women’s changing facilities at their place of work.

Having delusions believing he’s a woman, doesn’t change that basic fact.

Must admit, I’m horrified that the employer didn’t put him on long term sick or sack him when they discovered his delusional state of mind. 😳

Employment tribunals in the UK generally award pretty modest compensation, which is largely based on financial loss (how long it takes you to find another job). It's not like in the US where compensation is based on how rich the discriminating company is. I can't imagine someone deliberately aiming to be sacked so that they can bring a highly stressful Tribunal claim, which they have to raise legal fees for, in the hopes of getting a pay-out to cover their period of unemployment. Plus, who's going to offer a job to someone who's been dismissed in these circumstances and is suing their employer?

Jesus wept. He is taking his former employer to tribunal because they didn't give him the freedom - as a senior HR business partner - to express his negative beliefs about people with a particular protected characteristic?

You couldn't make it up.

It's worth reading the Higgs (Respondent) v Farmor's School (Appellant) case linked in the article.

ETA - I also wonder if he will actually raise the money.

I think the anti Islam stuff will be the issue.

Im not clear what it was he wanted to be able to do or say but just being “anti Islam” sounds discriminatory.

You can have concerns about how a religion treat women (for example) without discriminating against people who are of that religion.

Being anti an entire religion any potentially anyone who follows any part of it isn’t really ok - FWIW I am an atheist.

stated he was anti-Islam and believed there are only two genders

This makes it sound so basic and casual, like a passing off-the-cuff remark of no consequence.

If you read what he actually wrote, it's very far from "just" saying there's two genders and he's anti-Islam:

"Responding to one X user’s question ‘What do you feel when someone calls you Islamophobic’, he replied: “Nothing, because it isn’t a thing. It’s a made-up word. I hate Islam. It’s a 7th century barbaric cult. I don’t fear it. I loath it.”

In another tweet, he wrote: “If you are over 18 and think you are transgender then you have a mental illness. If you are 8 and think you are transgender your parents have a mental illness.”

I'm really sick of these awful people who come out with truly appalling things and then when it comes back to bite them wheedle "but all I said was there are only 2 genders, look how reasonable I am and how I'm being persecuted".

Don't be a cunt then try to hide behind GC views thank you. Not in my name.

An interesting case.

I can understand why his employer would want reassurance that an HRBP would be able to act in an unbiased manner if they are openly stating how much they hate Islam. It would also be hard to put him in a position where he was advising on the discipline or dismissal of a Muslim member of staff, as they would no doubt say he was biased.

People should be entitled to freedom of belief and freedom of conscience and the right to take part in the democratic process as a candidate is an important one, but you are paid to do a job and if your actions make it hard for you to do that job, your employer is unlikely to want to keep paying you.

Not interesting as a case just a racist bloke who’s jumped on a bandwagon as he wants to keep women at home or unequal under the law.

I believe in 2 sexes (there are a load of genders people choose). I still don’t choose to be a fucker about it and post all over the internet in a phobic way about it - I’m far more concerned with securing my rights as a biological woman.

This bloke chooses to be racist/transphobic for a political agenda and is FUCKING DUMB enough to post on social media about it. Twat.

I think from a purely legal perspective it matters whether he was commenting publicly and recognisably or not, no? Higgs’ reposts which got her sacked were on her private Facebook so she eventually won her case (after 6 years).

It is interesting as a case, you don’t have to agree with him to find it interesting what lawyers will argue about it. I don’t.

Indeed.

I'm sure Sandie Peggie will be delighted to know she's suddenly had a surprise huge windfall and is now massively rich.

I don't think I have much in common with Mr. Cooper but, based on his specific social media posts that I've seen reported, I think there's every chance he wins this.

I clearly have a difference of opinion with Mumsnet's moderation policy, as you can see from my prior deleted post.

I think it's vital that we can say we dislike, disapprove of, or "hate" any religion we like. If we can't say that then it's forced approval.

You can hate a religion without hating its adherents. It's not discriminatory to have opinions - negative opinions - about other people's practices or beliefs. And there's no reason you should not be allowed to say so.

Yup. People deserve protecting from hate and harassment. Ideas do not.

Lightning fast deletion!

Sandie Peggie's employers broke the law by allowing a man to get changed in the ladies' changing room.
Hope that helps.

I agree with you broadly but as a senior HR person, you have to keep your views quiet. The appearance of bias, in a business HR setting, is just as damaging as being actually biased.

The business would be vulnerable to claims every time they needed to fire someone who happened to be Muslim, or promote someone else instead, etc.

It's a business decision, not a moral one. If your HR guy is openly anti-anything, he's no longer a useful HR guy.

Edit - I'm not HR myself! Phrased badly. But I've had need of HR support before

Despite being GC I certainly won't be contributing to his crowdfunding.

I hate to think what Reform would do to Human/Women's rights if (god forbid) they ever got into power.

And yes this is clearly utterly different to the Sandy Peggie case, that is too obvious to require engagement