An article was published on this subject on the 10th of June 2014 by Owen Bowcott in the Guardian. It relates the misfortunes of Karsten Kaltoft, a child minder who was sacked by the council of his town in Denmark because he could not correctly perform his duties, highlighting the fact he could not tie up children’s shoelaces.

In response to this, Kaltoff brought a discrimination case against his local authority and he is determined to fight his dismissal right to the bitter end.

Kaltoff might feel encouraged by a similar case in Texas where someone suffering from obesity has recently got $55,000 (around £32,800) following the loss of his job.

If the court accepts to redefine obesity as a disability, Karsten Kaltoff’s lawyers will be able to demand changes to the rights of people who suffer from obesity.

These changes could also “prove significant for employers” according to Audrey Williams, head of discrimination at the London law firm Eversheds, especially as 64% of adults from UK are now considered as being overweight or obese.

You can read the entire article by clicking here.

 

? Is Kaltoff right to fight his dismissal? Would you redefine obesity as a disability?

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I think it's degrading to a lot of disabled people to categorise obesity as a 'disability'. Everyone deserves equal levels of respect but by accommodating work environments to obese people we risk 'normalising' the condition and making the problem worse. How is allowing obese people access to preferential parking, presumably closer to the entrance of a building, doing anything but accommodating the problem? 

I'm not sure. I know that in many cases obesity could be described as "self-induced", but the fact is that some people have very limited mobility and their independence is badly affected as a result. Ultimately does it matter how their obesity came about?

 

The term disability is surely more about recognising genuine physical or mental limitations that people are stuck with. Is this not what's happening here to an extent?

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