A short summary on Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and the Equality Act 2010 (EA):
(BED) arises when a person consumes a lot of food over a short period of time normally in circumstances where they are distressed and feel out of control and may relate to a serious mental health illness where the person may not be aware of the (BED) or be in denial that there is an issue making them unwilling or unaware of where to seek help.
Section 6 of the (EA) 2010 explains that a person has a disability if they have a physical or mental impairment and that the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
(BED) could fall within the above meaning and if so, the employer would be obliged to consider how to support the worker by making reasonable adjustments to the worker’s role if the worker is struggling to carry out the role due to their (BED) symptoms.
If (BED) or any other form of eating disorder is classified as a disability under Section 6 of the EA 2010 and the employer fails to support the worker, the employer may face a substantial disability discrimination damages claim.
How can an employer recognise (BED) in the workplace?
Workers suffering from some form of eating disorder may not be overweight or be teenagers as it can affect workers regardless of their sex, age, ethnicity, sexuality, or socio-economic background.
Key indicators to suggest that the worker may have some form of eating disorder would be changes in mood / behaviour, poor performance, tiredness, concentration issues, frequent visits to the toilet, eating excessively, agitation and withdrawal symptoms like keeping to oneself.
What should the employer do when they notice symptoms suggesting worker may have eating disorder issues?
An employer has a duty of care to protect, as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all their staff and upon reliance on their internal policies like health and safety policy and or wellbeing policy, proceed to call the worker to a welfare meeting to try to discuss matters.
The welfare meeting should be perceived as trying to support the worker, where the worker is made aware of their value to the business, but recent performance suggests something is wrong and thus encouraging the worker to open up on such matters with the reassurance that the meeting is confidential and looking at what can be done to assistant improvement.
Where the worker acknowledges that there is a health issue then, if deemed appropriate, the employer should signpost the worker to external support resources such as counselling, eating disorder charity such as Beat or see their GP or consider by agreement occupational health assessment. The welfare meeting should not be used by the employer to provide any diagnosis or treatment.
Where (BED) is a disability, what should the employer do?
Where the (BED) after seeking medical guidance with the consent of the worker, is considered to be a disability under (EA) 2010 then the employer has a duty of care to make reasonable adjustments to the worker’s role so as to accommodate the disability and if not practical, to consider offering some other suitable alternative position before considering termination on incapability but only as a last resort after taking professional HR / legal guidance.
The article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our free advice line team at 0116 274 9193.
