Thursday 30 September 2010

The Overweight Soon To Be Unemployable?

It wasn't long ago that VGIF reported on a shift in emphasis by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a prime mover (and financier) in transforming smokers into the societal pariahs they are today.

One wonders how much of that pharma money is already being put to work, because the attacks on fast food and the overweight would seem to be increasingly prevalent recently.

And boy! If governments follow the lead from Japan, you portly lads and lasses are in a for a hell of a time.


Yes, you heard that correctly. Hefty fines for businesses if their employees exceed a state-determined ideal size**. You know what? As a business owner, if forced to pay fines for overweight staff, I wouldn't see any other option but to not employ them at all.

It might be in the interest of porky Breckland Council employees - who this week voted for smokers to be singled out for punishment - to re-think their attitude towards overweening health bullies, doncha think?

After all, someone with an unfavourable BMI can't just clock out for a quick obese break, now can they?

Filed, yet again, under 'We did warn them'.

**And, of course, it's all the fault of McDonald's (whose Japanese arm have already shown a willingness to roll over when tickled).


13 comments:

Angry Exile said...

"As a business owner, if forced to pay fines for overweight staff, I wouldn't see any other option but to not employ them at all."

I suspect that's the idea. It'll force them to become the approved size, shape and fitness. Kraft durch Freude!

JuliaM said...

I read this, hoping it would be some sort of 'Daily Mash' spoof.

But oh, no...

Lady Virginia Droit de Seigneur said...

There are too many fat polticians here for it to take off.

Off the top of my head this would include, in recent year, Prescott, Gordon Brown, Ken Clarke, Eric Pickles, Michael Martin, Margaret Moran, Dianne Abbott, Tom Watson, Elliott Morley, Jim Devine, Simon Hughes - plus most of Scottish Labour.

Word verification: cultishe

Too fucking right it is

Lady Virginia Droit de Seigneur said...

Nick Brown, Ann Widdecombe, Betty Boothroyd,Gwynneth Dunwoody...

You see how stupid this gets

Lady Virginia Droit de Seigneur said...

Soames, how could I forget Soames!!!

Umbongo said...

"As a business owner, if forced to pay fines for overweight staff, I wouldn't see any other option but to not employ them at all."

Unfortunately you don't have the option. The implementation of the Equality Act today (you see, Labour didn't actually lose the election) will prevent employers discriminating against the obese on the grounds of over-fleshiness (or their possible incompetence for that matter if apparently caused by any number of things which could be classed as discriminatory or "associatively" discriminatory)

Pogo said...

Actually, this could turn into "a nice little earner" for HMG... (1) Force employers to employ fatties, then (2) fine employer for having fatties on the payrol. Neat!

Ian R Thorpe said...

They will not rethink anything Dick, they will just take refuge in the provisions of the equalities bill.

nbc said...

@ Lady Virginia

You don't seriously think that this would apply to the House of Commons do you?

There'd be a wee exemption in there, just like they did for the smoking ban.

Stephen said...

Calm down! This is Japan and there isn't a hope in hell of anything like this happening in the UK. Look, the Japanese force their inhabitants of Korean extraction to carry ID Cards and restrict their civil rights. That practice hasn't been extended to the UK. We don't force people whose grandfather was born in Pakistan to carry an ID Card or restrict their civil liberties. So why should other crackpot Japanese ideas come here?

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