An Oxford executive who was sacked from one of the UK's biggest property companies is to defend a claim he was unfairly dismissed because of his belief in climate change at an employment hearing today.

Tim Nicholson, 41, told a pre-hearing review in March that his views on the importance of the environment put him at odds with other senior employees at Grainger plc — and contributed to his sacking.

An Employment Appeal Tribunal panel in central London is to hear Grainger's appeal.

At an earlier hearing employment judge David Sneath ruled Mr Nicholson could make a claim for unfair dismissal under the Employment Equality (Religion and Belief) Regulations, 2003, but Grainger appealed against the decision, saying "a belief about climate change and the environment... is not a religious or philosophical belief".

Instead, the company claims it is "a political view about science and/or the world".

Mr Nicholson's lawyer Shah Qureshi said: "This is a case that will clarify the law for the ever increasing numbers of people who take a philosophical stance on the environment and climate change and who lead their lives according to those principles."