Obese workers should be allowed to start work late to avoid the rush-hour crush, a government adviser has said, and they should have the right to sue employers if they are not offered jobs or promotion because of their weight.

Prof Stephan Bevan, of the Institute for Employment Studies, said businesses should make more “accommodations” for workers carrying excess weight, adding it was time those suffering “functional impairment” were supported at work in the same way those with other health conditions might.

Critics called the idea “ridiculous”, with concessions for the obese likely to fuel resentment among fellow workers.

But speaking at the European Congress on Obesity in Vienna, Prof Bevan said the condition should be made a “protected characteristic” under the Equality Act.

“It’s the same as if you went for a job and didn’t get it because you were a woman,” he said.