Are very fat employees protected against workplace discrimination?

Karsten Kaltoft v Kommnernes Lansforening | December 2014

The ECJ held that whilst being overweight did not give employees any special protection or rights, the effects of obesity may mean the employee qualifies for protection as a disabled person. This would be the case in the UK under our Equality Act 2010 if the employee has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out day-to-day activities. For example, diabetes or mobility problems may hamper an employee’s ability to live a normal life.

Whilst there was lots of overzealous media coverage, this ECJ judgment simply confirmed established UK case law of Walker v Sita Information Networking Computing Ltd where the Employment Appeal Tribunal in 2012 held that obesity does not itself qualify as a disability. Only the effects of obesity might make it more likely that a claimant qualifies as a ‘disabled person’ under the Equality Act 2010.

This is an area of discrimination law to keep an eye on. An employee who is obese and suffers from a medical or physical problem caused by being overweight may now be able to ask you to make reasonable adjustments to allow him to stay at work; or perhaps a capability issue that leads to dismissal may now be seen as discriminatory for a reason related to a disability.

In the right cases, reasonable adjustments may include the provision of a wider desk, an allocation of a wider car parking space or reduced fitness standards.