A hospital trust in London has been hit with backlash after a job advertisement for a position in the trust’s eating disorders clinic requested that vegans not apply.
The advertisement, which has since been corrected, was for an occupational therapist position in the trust’s Eating Disorders Service which said: ‘Unfortunately [applicants] with vegan diets cannot be considered’.
A hospital trust in London has been hit with backlash after a job advertisement for a position in the trust’s eating disorders clinic requested that vegans not apply.
The advertisement, which has since been corrected, was for an occupational therapist position in the trust’s Eating Disorders Service which said: ‘Unfortunately [applicants] with vegan diets cannot be considered’.
A complaint was filed by The Vegan Society reminding the trust that it is under a duty, created by the Equality Act, not to discriminate but to promote equality of opportunity.
The trust later apologised and removed the offending words.
A spokesperson for the Trust said: ‘We welcome anyone of any belief applying for any job in our eating disorders service as long as they can fulfil the specific requirements of that job; in this case it includes modelling eating a broad range of foods patients might perceive as risky.
‘This requirement was wrongly summarised as about the person applying and not the clinical requirement of the job and we apologise for that.’
Amanda Baker, senior advocacy and policy officer at The Vegan Society, said: ‘We are delighted that the Trust concerned has revised the job advertisement. We hope that qualified vegans now feel able to apply, and will be considered fairly.’
