When I sign up for a job, no matter what my contract says I know there’s a possibility that at some point my duties might change.

If I’m qualified and receive adequate training to carry out these duties then it’s hardly up to me to refuse to the financial detriment of my employer. They’ve got a business to run and if they’ve acted fairly then why should they incur an efficiency loss to cover me?

If you work in a team based environment, such as a factory, then you should be even more prepared to switch roles as required (again, so long as any relevant training is provided).

Well, unless you’re morbidly obese Brisbane man Lance Pedersen.

Pedersen works for Golden Circle and was recently fired, he claims for being morbidly obese. He’s a forklift operator and was told by Golden Circle that he’d be required to cover lunch breaks on the beverage line.

After undergoing a medical to assess any health risks Pedersen was deemed unfit to work due to ‘several health reasons including morbid obesity and severe osteoarthritis of the knees.’

Now I could be cruel and blame Pedersen’s osteoarthritis of the knees due to them having to carry around his huge bulk all the time. Instead though I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say they are unrelated.

Pedersen’s morbid obesity however is entirely his own responsibility.

After 14 years with the company it’s not entirely unreasonable to see a change in a job description. Company needs change and if you’re unable to meet those new requirements, let alone for health reasons then you don’t really leave companies that much of a choice.

When faced with keeping someone on and thus having to hire someone completely new just to spend a few hours a day covering, or just hiring one person to do the job, business wise the decision is easy.

Instead though Pedersen and his union would have you believe he’s been hard done by. Had Pedersen an actual disability well hey I’d be inclined to agree. But he doesn’t.

Morbid obesity isn’t something that just creeps up on you. If you’re lazy enough to let your body shape deteriorate to the point where you’re unable to carry out duties required of you then that’s your own fault.

In his defense Pedersen claims ‘he has lost 8kg in recent times‘. Not sure how long recent times is but if true then maybe Golden Circle have something to answer for.

If anything they should be encouraging Pedersen’s weight loss. Perhaps an agreed upon schedule of weight loss would have been a more sensible option rather then firing him.

As it stands though my main beef with this situation is that it’s not like Pedersen was asked to do something he was grossly unqualified to do. I imagine standing there packing drinks ranks up there in terms of unskilled employment.

Job descriptions change all the time and if they’re reasonable (covering breaks is more then reasonable in my books) and you can’t perform the task due to your own fault, then what choice do companies have?

I imagine the Australian economy would soon grind to a halt if employers were unable to meet their business needs due to existing employees refusing to take on additional or alternative tasks due to being grossly overweight.

Australia’s one of the fastest growing countries around when it comes to obesity. Sadly this likely means Pedersen won’t be an isolated case. In the long term I imagine the end result will be even more jobs moved offshore to countries where people don’t go home to a BigMac every night.

And it’s not just a problem between one employee and an employer either. If I’m working somewhere and some guy is given special treatment (ie. he’s the only one that doesn’t have to cover lunch breaks because he’s a fatty), then that’s quickly going to sour inter-employee relations.

If I’m doing the same job as someone else and our contract duties change slightly but reasonable, and then the other guy gets out of it due to a completely avoidable lifestyle choice, well I’m going to kick up a fuss then aren’t I.

Much in the same way if a company based 6 levels underground told it’s employees they could go home early one day but only if they took the stairs. Obese employees would be up in arms, or at least as high as they could lift them.

If your weight is such a problem that you can’t stand and pack drinks for an hour or two a day covering lunch breaks, then you’ve got way bigger problems on your plate then getting fired.

Hopefully with the extra time he’s got on his hands Pedersen takes some time out to work on his weight problem and focuses on re-entering the workforce as a healthy employable person.

It’d be a damn sight more productive then chasing dollar signs and screaming obesity discrimination.


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