Karsten Kaltoft, aDanish childminder, who weighed more than 25st at the time, was sacked by the council, Billund Kommune, because it deemed that he could not perform his duties due to his size, citing the fact that he required help from a colleague to tie up children's shoelaces.
Mr Kaltoft is taking legal action against his employers on the grounds of discrimination and is 'calling for employers across Europe to treat obesity as a disability'. If he is successful, this could bring about widespread changes to the way obese people are treated in the workplace. The UK courts have previously ruled that 'obesity itself has been rejected as a disability in its own right'. However, if the European court reaches a finds in favour of Mr Kaltoft, the Equality Act would need to be amended.
The USA have already addressed this concern: several recent cases have resulted in dismissed workers successfully claiming they were discriminated against for being obese. In one case, a worker in Texas who weighed more than 305kg (48st) received $55,000 (£32,800) in compensation for losing his job.
I remember seeing a report on addictive behaviours where brain scan mapping had been used to try and understand addiction. From what I can recall, there is an area of the brain that allows us to self-regulate; in some people, that area is either not fully functional or is damaged and this, according to the report, is why some people can stop a certain activity and others find it extremely difficult - if not impossible.
Would Mr Kaltoft's employers have made the same citation to a wheelchair-bound person? Or a person suffering from vertigo that found it problematic to bend down?
Do you feel that Mr Kaltoft has a legitimate cause for complaint?
Would this be a good change to the discrimination laws or do you feel that it will be used as an excuse?
www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/10/danish-childminder-discrimination-case-obesity-disability-eu-states
