The European Court of Justice has ruled that obesity can be considered a disability in certain circumstances following the case of a male childminder, Karsten Kaltoft, in Denmark who was fired and sacked from his job for being 'too fat'.
According to the court, obesity can deter and hinder 'full and effective participation' in their workplaces. Thus, it can count as a disability. Now, the rule will be applied across Europe.
The court forces companies to provide obese and overweight employees lighter workloads offer their staff with bigger chairs, and special parking spaces. The European court released their judgment on Thursday under EU equality at work legislation and is legally binding for all British employers.
During the time of dismissal, Kaltoft weighed 160 kilograms and his body mass index (BMI) was 54. He was overwhelmed with the decision of the court and hailed it as a victory against his former employer.
He told reporters, "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."
"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," he added.
However, judges said that obesity is not a disability per se, but if the person would incur long-term impairment because of obesity, they can be protected by the disability law. Danish courts, on the other hand, want the EU court to clarify whether obesity itself can be considered a disability.
In their response, the EU court said, "If the obesity of the worker hinders the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers", then obesity can fall within the concept of "disability".
Thus, employers must, on a case to case basis, formulate reasonable adjustments such as providing bigger chairs or special parking spaces in order to protect their employeers from verbal harassment and discrimination.
