Size discrimination in workplace

[GEC44]

Looking at another current thread on here regarding being weighed in the office, it's made me want to post about my employer.

The role is a uniformed role.

New uniform was recently issued and a memo went out a few weeks beforehand to ask any female members of staff size 18 or above to attend a measuring session in a meeting room, as the uniform supplier doesn't go past size 16 and so anything bigger would need to be specially made.

I found this to be quite humiliating. Fair enough if the supplier doesn't go past a certain size, but the employer could have been a bit more discreet about it rather than getting all the size 18 plus ladies in for a "measuring session".

Insensitive but it's not discrimination.
You can still get a uniform.

I'm assuming that the uniform provider only has ready to wear sizes to fit the majority of staff.

Sadly, it's not your company's or the supplier's fault that you're overweight and I say this as a size 20 fattie.

Apart from all the people who cannot lose weight because of illness/medication, or the people who suffer from eating disorders and cant magically be cured.

Trust me, if shame and discrimination was a cure for weight loss, there would be no fat people.

Bias and discrimination exists, and people die because of it. Studies have proven things such as medical bias causing death.

Its descriminatory against everyone who isnt getting tailor made clothes especially made for them because they arent obese/morbidly obese.

Theres a lesson here somewere about something.
Seems like its obvious but apparently not 🙄🐷

I don't see the issue. If they need to make them to order if you're above a certain size it would be a waste of money if it doesn't fit.

Of course everyone has fat.

A PP wrote something along the lines of 'they'll already know you're a size 18 or above.' That is one thing.

Saying 'they know you are fat' is quite another and the faux naivety about the same isn't going to wash; you'd have to be incredibly dim to realise that calling someone fat isn't intended as an insult.

Couldn't get worked up about this. No secret that I'm an 18 plus

Oh give over

Yabu

Gosh there is some unkindness here on this thread. Thinly veiled as 'plain speaking'

I don't know what constitutes discrimination by law - but if someone is finding a system or procedure upsetting for them, then surely it is, by definition, a system which risks upsetting people. I bet OP isn't the only one who there feeling like this.

I'm surprised about the 16 being the biggest size they do off the peg. Any large group of women these days will include quite a few at the 16 and bigger mark. Especially if it's a fabric with no give and fitted sleeves.

It really isn't discrimination. It's getting something better than your colleagues.

I'm sure OP would forego the 'better' uniform and not have to have the measuring session though if she could.

This happened to me when I was 19 except I was the other end of the scale and a tiny size 4 and hated being so thin, myself and some other larger ladies got weighed in a room discreetly and I got a uniform that fitted and believe me that is a bloody bonus rather than trying to tie something on me and make it fit or another lady trying to do up something that is not made for her body shape. I was delighted!

Could you suggest a couple?

YABU. Being above a size 16 is unhealthy no matter what your height is.

it should be expected that a minority of staff are above that size and as such it would be a poor (financial) decision for a company to stock clothes in larger sizes that they could reasonably assume would have less demand.

No one asked about whether you have to be healthy to have a uniform for work.

Why bring health into it? Its not relevant at all.

That’s disgraceful. I can’t believe that in this day and age, people are still being treated differently due to their physical attributes. I hope you complained not only about this, but also about disabled car parking spaces not being available for everyone else to use, too? After all, it’s so unfair on them that they are treated differently, just because they don’t fit the ‘norm’. The company (and indeed the law) making special allowances to ensure everyone has the same end result, no matter what their own individual circumstances are, is despicable.

I don’t understand OP.

Are you saying that nobody you work with could have used their eyes to assess whether a colleague is size 18 or over?

How does going to be measured “out” you in any way?

I genuinely don’t get it.

In this case though, the people allegedly the subject of the discrimination are actually getting the better deal because of it. They are getting a custom made, tailored to fit uniform which no-one size 16 or below will get.

*Wait hang on…

Are you suggesting HR don’t tell people about the uniform size issue - so size 8 people are turning up and getting a fake tailoring? Wasting everybody’s time, and then giving them a non tailored outfit?

Or are you saying they SHOULD say about the size 18 issue and get everyone along anyway, even the size 8 people, who have to pretend to wonder if they’re 5 sizes too bigger?

What utter snowflakery bullshit is this?*!

This. You're a larger size so need made to measure. It's not discrimination as they aren't saying they won't get you a uniform and your colleagues likely won't be surprised by you going in to be measured. L

Just to add, sorry OP I dont think this is discrimination, because the employer are making sure you have a uniform that fits. It would be discrimination if they had refused to get a uniform in your size.

Have they gone about it a bit undiplomatically? Perhaps, but I think you are projecting a lot of your own feelings about how you feel about yourself.

I promise, people already know your size and do not give a flying shit!

Size isn't a protected characteristic. It's not discriminatory.

Surely it's going the be the same for men larger than an XXL?

They are maybe just being nice. 🫣😁

It's not discrimination because being overweight isn't a protected characteristic.

And being overweight isn't a protected characteristic because - unlike age, sexuality, disability, race and so on - it's something that people can do something about if they want to. If they choose not to, then that's their affair. But they should trivialise the very real discrimination that people face because of factors beyond their control.

shouldn't trivialise - doh!

I am very tall for a woman and need trousers with an inside leg measurement of 36”!

I wouldn’t be bothered at all if I was called into a room for them to measure me to make sure that my clothes were likely to fit properly due to my height. People would just have to look at me to know that I’m tall and a standard uniform wouldn’t fit 🤷‍♀️

I don’t see the issue, unless it’s that you’re embarrassed to be plus sized and that you feel your employer is somehow highlighting that.

And it isn’t (legal) discrimination.