"I'm not recruiting him! He's a fat bastard!"

I am sad to say that this is a true story.

The editor of this esteemed publication once assisted at an assessment centre for first line supervisors in a public sector organisation. Admittedly it was one in which a degree of physical fitness was required, but other factors were equally important. Of the candidates assessed on the day, one individual clearly emerged as the one who most closely fulfilled the full range of assessment criteria (including verbal and numerical reasoning, team work, critical thinking, problem solving and leadership potential). The recruiting manager was visibly uncomfortable with this particular candidate being selected for the supervisory role. “So,” questioned your faithful editor, “Why do you not want to progress with appointing this high-performing candidate to the vacant position?” His response? “Because he’s a fat bastard!”

This incident may have taken place a number of years ago but, according to a study undertaken by Slimming World (not often quoted in HR Case Studies, one has to admit!) and YouGov, 'Fattism' is alive and kicking in the workplace.

The responses from those who considered themselves to be overweight are inevitably subjective (“They would say that, wouldn’t they!”, I hear some cry) but the research indicates that when overweight people do get a job, they are twice as likely to earn a low salary, four times more likely to suffer bullying about their weight, and six times more likely to feel their appearance has caused them to be overlooked for promotion.

More worrying though is the fact that of the 227 bosses surveyed, one in four male managers said they would turn down a potential candidate based purely on their weight, and one in 10 admitted they have already done so.

Fattism at work is still a prevalent problem

• Is this a serious problem, or do we have enough other more important prejudices to overcome in the workplace?