Employers Admit to Discriminating against the Overweight

January 21, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – A survey by a U.K. weight loss program provider finds employers pass up overweight job candidates because they assume the candidates are "lazy," "lack self control," and are "not hard workers."

According to a press release, the survey of 2,000 people by Slimming World and YouGov also found that when people who are overweight do get a job they are twice as likely to earn a low salary and four times more likely to suffer bullying about their weight. They are six times more likely to feel their appearance has caused them to be overlooked for promotion.

Data from the survey’s 227 employers indicates that male bosses are particularly discriminatory. One in four male bosses say they would turn down a potential candidate based purely on their weight and one in 10 admit they have already done so, the press release said.

The survey found that people in the highest weight category (BMI 40+) are four times more likely than healthy weight people to ‘never’ feel confident and twice as likely to dread applying for a new job.