Mr Kaltoft was a childminder who was morbidly obese, with a BMI of 54. He was dismissed by a council in Denmark and claimed it was because of his obesity, which he said amounted to a disability. A Danish court referred four questions to the CJEU:

A. Is it contrary to EU law, as expressed, for example, in Article 6 TEU concerning fundamental rights, generally or particularly for a public-sector employer to discriminate on grounds of obesity in the labour market?

B. If there is an EU prohibition of discrimination on grounds of obesity, is it directly applicable as between a Danish citizen and his employer, a public authority?

C. Should the Court find that there is a prohibition under EU law of discrimination on grounds of obesity in the labour market generally or in particular for public-sector employers, is the assessment as to whether action has been taken contrary to a potential prohibition of discrimination on grounds of obesity in that case to be conducted with a shared burden of proof, with the result that the actual implementation of the prohibition in cases where proof of such discrimination has been made out requires that the burden of proof be placed on the respondent/defendant employer?

D. Can obesity be deemed to be a disability covered by the protection provided for in Council Directive 2000/78/EC … and, if so, which criteria will be decisive for the assessment as to whether a person’s obesity means specifically that that person is protected by the prohibition of discrimination [on] grounds of disability as laid down in that directive?

The answer to question 1 is 'no'. There is no general right to protection on grounds of obesity and it is therefore not unlawful to discriminate on that ground. That means questions 2 and 3 did not have to be answered by the CJEU.

However, the Court went on to find that obesity could be deemed a disability or could lead to disability:

"...in the event that, under given circumstances, the obesity of the worker concerned entails a limitation which results in particular from physical, mental or psychological impairments that in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers, and the limitation is a long-term one, obesity can be covered by the concept of ‘disability’ within the meaning of Directive 2000/78 ...Such would be the case, in particular, if the obesity of the worker hindered his full and effective participation in professional life on an equal basis with other workers on account of reduced mobility or the onset, in that person, of medical conditions preventing him from carrying out his work or causing discomfort when carrying out his professional activity."

The case was referred back to the Danish courts to determine whether Mr Kaltoft was disabled, given the facts that he had carried out his duties for some 15 years and seems to have been obese throughout. 

Where does that leave other employers and employees in the EU? Obese employees might be disabled by that obesity, although obesity, of itself, is not a disability under the Equal Treatment Directive. You have to look the effect of the obesity - the cause or origin of any disability is largely irrelevant, except insofar as it might point the way to reasonable adjustments or accommodations that might be considered to alleviate the impact of any disability.
http://bit.ly/1z0R9MO 

* The BBC has some interesting analysis and conjecture about what this case might mean for employers and service providers throughout Europe, including comments from Eversheds:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30529791