Oil and gas firms may have to charter boats or hire bigger helicopters to accommodate overweight workers after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided obese people can be classed as disabled.
Businesses are being warned to expect widespread and expensive consequences after law chiefs in Luxembourg ruled that being overweight qualifies as a disability.
The judgment follows the sacking of Karsten Kaltoft, a 25-stone childminder from Denmark.
The council he worked for said it was making redundancies based on a decrease in the number of youngsters who required childminding, and did not disclose whether Mr Kaltoft’s size played any part in its decision to let him go.
Mr Kaltoft reportedly needed help tying his shoelaces and struggled with physical tasks.
The ECJ’s ruling is binding in all EU member states and could offer crucial protection to offshore workers who fall foul of new helicopter safety legislation limiting the size of people travelling to North Sea platforms.
Industry body Oil and Gas UK has been closely watching the case in case there are implications for offshore firms.
They will now have to find ways of accommodating overweight workers so they are not at a disadvantage compared with slimmer colleagues.
Neil Fraser, employment law partner at north-east law firm Aberdein Considine, said: “With obesity on the increase, the cost to the state and private enterprise of fat rights could be frightening.
“The consequences of formal legal rights and protections for the obese could be widespread and expensive.”
The Civil Aviation Authority has already ruled that oil workers who cannot fit through a helicopter’s emergency window while in a survival suit will not fly after April 2015.
But the regulator has insisted options will be explored to avoid any negative impact.
Kirk Tudhope, employment law partner at Aberdeen law firm Ledingham Chalmers, said: “Although this is clearly an issue for industries where a reasonable level of fitness and mobility is required, it is difficult to identify any employers who may not be adversely affected by obesity in the workforce.”
Pamela Struth, human resources (HR) expert at Aberdeen HR, health and safety and employment-law firm Empire, said: “The offshore industry has already received new rules this year in relation to safety requirements for helicopter passengers.
“This ruling by the ECJ may provide another hurdle for such employers.”
Recommended for you
