Can obesity constitute a disability?

ByJudy Dyke June 9, 2015

According to the European Court of Justice (‘the ECJ’), obesity can constitute a disability within the meaning of the Employment Equality Directive.

The facts of the case in question are that Mr Kaltoft worked for 15 years for the Municipality of Billund (Denmark) as a childminder. On 22 November 2012, his employment was terminated. While the reason for the dismissal was due to redundancy, the municipality did not provide a reason why Mr Kaltoft was selected for dismissal.

Throughout the duration of his employment, Mr Kaltoft was considered obese under the definition of the World Health Organisation. Although his obesity was mentioned during a meeting about his dismissal, the parties disagreed over the manner in which this issue was discussed. The municipality denied that obesity was one of the reasons for Mr Kaltoft’s dismissal. Taking the view that the dismissal resulted from unlawful discrimination on the grounds of obesity, a workers’ union acting on behalf of Mr Kaltoft, bought proceedings before a Danish court seeking a declaration of that discrimination as well as compensation.

In the context of assessing that request, the court asked the ECJ to specify whether EU law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of obesity. It also asked the ECJ whether obesity can constitute a disability.

The ECJ held that obesity itself cannot be regarded as a ground for protection against discrimination. However, the ECJ found that in certain circumstances, obesity can fall within the concept of disability.

It is now for the national court to determine whether Mr Kaltoft’s obesity falls within the definition of disability. On this basis, a worker with long-term obesity may now be regarded as disabled.

If you would like to find out more about this or any other employment issue, please contact me.

Kate GarrettKate Garrett
Solicitor

Head of Employment Law

To find out more about Kate, click here
To contact Kate call 0121 693 2222 or click here

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