EASO is pleased to share the second output from the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) PURPOSE Programme, which is available now, open access.
The report looks at UK workplace health programmes, and evidence of their effectiveness for people living with obesity, highlighting a combination of legal, moral and business frameworks for employers to use when introducing or developing workplace health programmes to improve employee health and wellbeing. The research presented in the report urges caution around how these programmes are implemented, in order to avoid the risk of inadvertently reinforcing obesity stigma, and calls for obesity to be included as a protected characteristic under the UK Equality Act of 2010.
Those of us who follow the good work of the IES will see that the new report builds on nicely from the earlier PURPOSE programme study, framing actionable recommendations relevant for government, including recognition that government needs to improve guidance for employers regarding the legal status of obesity discrimination in employment to employers, both corporations and SMEs. Patient communities will note that the recommendations here reinforce that support is available to people who experience discrimination in an employment context.
Read the full report:
Living and working with obesity: Are employers playing their part?