In a similar thread to the evacuation questions asked earlier we have a colleague who is obese to the point that we are concerned for his ability to evacuate the building in the event of a fire. We are also concerened that should he have a fall or an accident it would be extremely difficult to place him in the recovery position. We are considering asking him to work fom home but I was wondering if anyone has come across an issue like this before?

Was thinking along similar lines, the growing size of the population has all sorts of implications. The 0.6m crush zone and width of working platform have faded away it seems. The NHS has and still is 'upsizing' its facilities, this may be the next big (no pun) challenge the safety industry faces. I suspect however that it will be a gradual change that has already started. It will be interesting too see whether size discrimination comes to the workplace, with employers opting for a particular size of recruit.

i would suggest that a PEEP is carried out to identify if he needs assistance or any other consideration in the vent of an evacuation. if you can't identify any special requirements in terms of assistance then you may be well discriminating against that person you are legally obliged to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace. why would he need placing into the recovery position how many times at your company have you ever needed to place someone in the recovery position. I can see where your concern is coming from but i think you need to consider the likelihood of the events you describe against the possible real reason of having an excuse not to allow him to work at your premises.

Does he need any assistance to get to his desk or place of work in the morning if not why should he need assistance or cause an issue when evacuating in an emergency?

Phil

Before you do anything at all. Has he told you he has been diagnosed as clynically obese or is that just your opinion? You may well be right but unless he's told you or you are qualified to diagnose obesity you will leave yourself wide open to accussations of discrimination. It could be that there are others there who would be classified as clynically obese but may not appear so to your eyes.

There is no question regarding the diagnosis of obese and I absolutely applaud the individual for the effort they make each day to continue working. He is already seated close to an outside door and we have provided an adapted chair to accomodate him. I know this is a tricky, and somewhat emotive subject, but as already pointed out it is something a lot of people in our proffesion may have to deal with in the future. There is already debate as to when the DDA kicks in or if it actually applies at all but irrespective of this we must make an assessment of the risk to both himself and his colleagues. The recovery position was raised due to the well documented increase in heart disease associated with obesity and therefore the increased likelihood of requiring first-aid treatment. His seating position ensures that in the event of a fire he will reach the door fairly quickly but in a true panic situation could this actually cause more problems? I do not want to personalise this suffice to say the individual is 35+ stone and has been offered additional support from the business. offering home work is a last resort but I am aware that even getting to and from work is causing them difficulties. We already have a PEEP which he has signed up to but again in a true emergency how many people will follow the agreed protocol?

Thomas - duty of care has already been mentioned, but the employee also has a duty to be fit for work and not to cause any risks to others - in event of fire escape for example.

Get a medical advisor / consultant to assist / advise you here

David

A very quick point on recovery position - I am rushing now as I need to pop out so appologies for rubbish reply.

I have never had any trouble putting larger people into the position, the main problem IMHO is if they are on their side for long periods and become injured by this, that said as I said in the other post incorrect recovery position and damage to skin is better than dead...

However if you can't get into recovery position as is also the case with average size patients at times first aiders are trained to manage airway with jaw thrust or other techniques.

I don't think this is as serious as an issue as the fire point.

I agree with the last post. Involve HR, Line Manager and Occ Health. From this you can develop his PEEP in agreement with him.
You may decide to appoint `buddies` who will escort him slowly to the nearest refuge point. One will stay with him and the other informs the firemarshal(s) of his location in the building. If a false alarm, he doesn't need to fully evacuate. If a real evacuation, the appointed Liaision Officer can advise the emergency services of his location and the emergency services can then arrange his evacuation depending on the current risk.