20 hr focus
Managing overweight employees
It is normal for employers to employ individuals of all different shapes and sizes. A recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision reminds employers of their obligations to employees who may be disabled within the Equality Act, because of their weight, reports Alistair McArthur, head of the employment department, Herrington & Carmichael
The case, in Denmark, involved an obese childminder whose employer dismissed him because of fewer children needing care. The employee argued that he was selected for dismissal because of his obesity, being discrimination. The case was sent to the ECJ to consider whether:
1 It was contrary to European law to discriminate on the grounds of obesity?
2 Obesity was a disability?
The ECJ considered there were no provisions in European Law that prohibited discrimination on the grounds of obesity. In the Equality Act, it is not one of the “protected characteristics” such as race or sex.
The ECJ did, however, conclude that obesity may be a disability. In the UK this would apply if the employee’s obesity gives rise to a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. From experience, this is not a difficult test for an employee, who may have a condition, to satisfy.
In making this decision, the ECJ reminds employers of the existing UK law. Obesity is, in itself, not a disability. However, the effect of the obesity may result in the individual qualifying as disabled within the terms of the Equality Act.
The difficulty for employers with
conditions related to weight is that there is no strict number or level of weight that is going to result in an employee qualifying as disabled. There is the potential that employees suffering differing degrees of weight issues could seek to be considered disabled, whether this is over or under weight.
So what can employers do? An employer should always try to be supportive to employees with weight issues. Employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments for employees that are disabled, whether by weight or another reason.
Further, as in the Danish case, employers should avoid making decisions related to an individual’s
Want to improve profitability/efficiency by at least 5%?
Colin Perkins, director/HR consultant with PSM HR Outsourcing, explains how
As a long-established, commercially-orientated HR manager, it requires little if any selling to ask a line manager if they would like to improve their efficiency and hence their profitability by over 5%. A truthful 'no brainer'.
For example, in one client, a manager was responsible for six employees and given that the average duration of employment for an employee was three years, the manager was therefore responsible for £250,000 of employee 'investment' or costs per year – a total investment over three years of £750,000. Makes you think, does it not? However, despite being responsible for this substantial company investment, after careful analysis the manager was found to spend less than 3% of his time recruiting, managing, training and developing this £750,000 investment. Like many managers, the vast proportion of his time was spent on operational
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issues, often resolving problems resulting from, or caused by, inadequately selected, trained or unsuited subordinates.
Most importantly, he was spending little or no time on a structured interview, assessment and recruitment process to secure the quality of new staff in the first instance.
Experience shows that interviews are often no more than 30-45 minutes and often completed on the 'hoof' and with little or no preparation. Yet in the above example of an average employee staying for three years, each employee amounted to an investment decision of £125,000. Ask yourself, if you were given this sum of money to spend, would you really only spend 45 minutes to determine how best and wisely to invest this sum (Caribbean trips excluded)? As professional managers, The Business Magazine readers should ask themselves the
simple question, “if I was given £125,000 to invest, would I leave it in a non-interest earning account or would I make sure that I invest
it and continuously enhance its value”.
At PSM we believe that through a thorough recruitment process and equally a follow-up development process, managers can easily maximise the development of most employees and hence increase by 5%-10% the efficiency and effectiveness of their individual output. We also believe that the management & development of the employee resource should be an obligation, not an option and a critical KPI of a managers own performance.
“A journey over a thousand miles begins with a small step.” Kung Se
Are you ready for the journey? Free HR advice for The Business Magazine readers
PSM HR Outsourcing, in liaison with The Business Magazine, is pleased to offer one free telephone advice and guidance call for all readers. This offer is open to readers until Thursday, February 19. Feel free to telephone Perkins or any of his HR team quoting “The Business Magazine” or visit the website:
Details: 01784-472541
www.psmhrmanagers.com
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – FEBRUARY 2015
weight. Therefore, an employee should not be selected for redundancy on grounds of their weight or have their employment terminated because, for example, they do not fit with an employer’s “corporate image”. Otherwise, this may give grounds for a claim.
Details: Alistair McArthur 0118-9898158
alistair.mcarthur@herrington-
carmichael.com
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