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In the long running case of a Danish nursery worker, Karsten Karltoft, who was dismissed from his employment in a children’s nursery because he was unable to bend down to tie up children’s shoe laces due to his 25 stone body weight, the European Court of Justice has ruled that obesity can in some circumstances amount to a disability.
Courts have for some time steered clear of defining obesity as a disability and employees have had to rely on conditions caused by obesity to qualify for protection under the disability discrimination laws which are set out in the Equality Act 2010. The Court of Justice ruling is significant in that it will have a binding affect across all EU member states.
The ruling itself states that if obesity could encumber “full and effective participation” at work, then it could count as a disability. This is quite a broad interpretation and will cause a lot of uncertainty for employers in managing employees who are also obese. If employees have a long term impairment because of their obesity and if this hindered their performance at work, then they would be protected by the disability legislation. Employers may well find themselves now having to considering making adjustments such as providing larger chairs, car parking spaces closer to the place of work to ease mobility issues as well as taking steps to protect verbal harassment based on obesity.
Obesity can be a sensitive subject and it was anticipated that the Court of Justice would not make the leap and define obesity as being capable of being a disability. Many commentators see this as bad news in the fight against increasing levels of obesity. For employers though, the ruling has wide implications on how to engage with and manage employees who are obese whilst avoiding costly claims for discrimination. The requirement for adjustments to be reasonable remains and the duty on the employer is to consider what if any reasonable adjustments can be made to facilitate continued employment of a person with a disability.