Being fat is a disability, EU judges have ruled, meaning that companies in Europe must offer obese staff bigger chairs, special parking spaces and a lighter work load.
Thursday’s judgment by the European Court of Justice means that fatness “can constitute a disability” under EU equality at work legislation – a ruling that is legally binding for all British employers.
The ruling follows a case brought by Karsten Kaltoft, a Danish childminder, who claimed he was sacked because he was overweight.
At the time of his dismissal, Mr. Kaltoft weighed about 160 kilograms and had a body mass index (BMI) of 54.
Mr. Kaltoft, who now works as a lorry driver, hailed the ruling as victory against his former employer, the local authority in the Danish town of Billund, which claimed he was unable to perform his childminding duties.
“It is good that we now recognize that obesity can be a disability, and I hope that the municipality realizes that it was not okay to fire me,” Mr. Kaltoft said.
“I never saw it as a requirement that I needed to lose weight and never had a feeling that it could cost me the job.”
Following his legal victory, British employers will have to bear the costs of litigation and of finding ways to ensure that overweight workers are not placed at any disadvantage.
Lawyers have described the ruling as a “real problem” for businesses because EU judges did not define at what level of clinical or severe obesity a worker could be classed as disabled.
“This ruling is a real problem for employers. It’s still not clear enough for them to be sure that they’re going to be on the right side of the law,” said Julian Hemming, an employment partner at law firm Osborne Clarke.
Bosses could face litigation from obese employees who claim their work, especially in manual jobs, is too demanding and requires special treatment or equipment to help them.
“This test could mean that businesses face claims from obese staff for failing to make reasonable adjustments to their role; tasks that require full mobility such as stacking shelves in a supermarket, for example,” warned Mr. Hemming.
“They also need to consider whether doing so could trigger related claims from other members of staff who feel that their obese colleague is ‘getting away’ with doing less work or ‘avoiding’ manual tasks and that they are doing more of this work as a result.”
The EU court declined to define what level of BMI, which takes into account height and weight to calculate the degree of obesity, is required to class someone as disabled, ruling that such decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned that businesses could face extra costs and litigation as obese workers sue employers amid confusion over when obesity can be defined as a disability. Neil Carberry, the CBI director for employment and skills, said: “It is unclear from the ruling what it would be reasonable to expect employers to do, so the Government will need to work with businesses to establish clear guidelines and avoid unfair costs being levied on firms.”
Matthew Elliott, the chief executive of Business for Britain, a campaign group, described the EU judgment as “daft.”
“This ruling could place a huge burden on U.K. businesses, with employers forced to pick up the bill for the increased waistlines of their workforce,” he said.
Under the EU ruling, obesity can constitute a disability when “it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers.”
Important to the ruling, is the EU court’s judgment that the origin of the disability is irrelevant even if obesity is caused by overeating or gluttony.
The Danish municipality that sacked Mr. Kaltoft had argued that he was not protected by equality legislation because his “clinical obesity is self-inflicted.”
Nick de Bois, co-chairman of the Commons all-party parliamentary group on public health, said: “It seems to me the court is overlooking the role of personal responsibility.”
Source:: National Post
