Employee criticizing equality and inclusion policy reinstated | PRO HR November 2023
2023.11.30
A case has been filed with the Regional Court in Kraków regarding the dismissal of an employee for discriminatory and homophobic posts on IKEA's internal communication network.
An IKEA employee on the company's internal network commented on a message about the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in a way that attacked the LGBT community (excerpt from the statement: "Acceptance and promotion of homosexuality and other deviances is sowing depravity").A few days after the post was published, the employee was fired.
The fired employee sued his former employer and demanded reinstatement and compensation.
In 2022 the District Court reinstated the dismissed employee. This ruling was upheld by the Regional Court in November 2023.
The principal reasons for the ruling indicated that it is unacceptable in the workplace to discriminate on the basis of religion or sexual orientation, but neither can one's policy of inclusion force employees to change their views. The Court also stressed the crucial nature of the desire to defend one's beliefs on the part of the dismissed employee - it indicated that violating the rights of non-heteronormative people was not the employee's intention. The Court agreed that posting content of this type can harm a sense of security and does not build a good atmosphere in the workplace. At the same time, it stated that a violation of the rules of social intercourse can only be invoked by someone who did not commit such a violation himself.
Thus, the Court held that the posting of a message about the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia constituted a violation on the part of the employer, and since the employee's statement was merely a response to the employer's communication violating his beliefs, it cannot be considered a circumstance justifying termination of the employment contract.
Find more in the PRO HR November 2023