Is obesity a workplace disability?

In a much anticipated decision, the European Court of Justice has ruled that being obese can constitute a disability for the purposes of EU equality at work legislation.

The judgment means British companies will be required to treat obese workers as “disabled”, providing them with larger seats, special parking spaces and other facilities. However, the ECJ has stopped short of making obesity a protected characteristic in itself.

What has caused this ruling?

The EU court ruling, which is binding on British employers, follows a case brought by Karsten Kaltoft, a Danish childminder, who claimed he was sacked by his local authority employer because he was so overweight.

The Danish local authority that employed 25 stone Mr Kaltoft had sacked him due to reports he required help from a colleague to tie up children’s shoelaces.

Important to the ruling is the EU court’s judgement that the origin of the disability is irrelevant even if someone’s gross obesity is caused by overeating or gluttony.

What does this mean for employers?

This test could mean that businesses face claims from obese staff for failing to make reasonable adjustments to their role if the job entails tasks where they would be on an unequal footing with other staff, such as manual tasks that require full mobility.

Employers will have to bear the costs of litigation and finding ways to ensure obese workers are not placed at any disadvantage to slimmer colleagues.

Employers will need to consider whether they make any adjustments for obese staff to protect themselves from discrimination claims, but they also need to consider whether doing so could trigger employee relation issues and related claims from other members of staff who feel that their obese colleague is doing less work or avoiding manual tasks.

What level of obesity is classed as a disability?

The EU court has declined to define what level of Body Mass Index (BMI), the measure used to calculate the degree of obesity in an individual, would be required to class someone as disabled. Instead decisions will be made on a case by case basis.

While this doesn’t give any clarity for employers, it may actually help to uphold the principles that prohibit employers from discriminating on grounds of obesity.

If you are at all unsure about what this ruling means and how it will impact on your business, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can also find more information on what constitutes a workplace disability in one of my previous blogs.

For more information on this, or any other employment law matter, contact the Employment team on 01772 258321.