Employers ‘should judge on skills rather than looks’

In order to avoid perceived discrimination, employers have been urged to judge job candidates on their skills and abilities, rather than their appearance.

The news comes after a Slimming World and YouGov poll revealed one in four male bosses would turn down a potential employee purely based on their weight and one in ten admit to having done so.

Steve Williams, head of equality services at Acas, said there are no laws around the issue of weight discrimination in the workplace, but he would urge employers not to make assumptions about a candidate based on their size.

“If a colleague is being bullied in the workplace over their weight then an employer has a duty of care to deal with this and not ignore the situation,” he added.

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Mr Williams recommended businesses invest time in ensuring their line managers and supervisors have the knowledge necessary to deal with such a situation and that their people management skills are up to date.