Lawyer claims to be suspected of violating the law. Hainan Airlines has proposed that flight attendants who are "10% overweight" should immediately suspend flights to reduce weight. Female flight attendants and lawyers

In early June this year, Hainan Airlines issued a notice to its cabin crew to conduct "professional image screening and control tips" on crew members, which clearly stipulated different levels of control over the body size and weight of female crew members. Female crew members who exceeded the standard weight value by 10% will be "immediately grounded to lose weight".

Hainan Airlines: 5% overweight but not exceeding 10% self weight loss for 30 days

Civil aviation industry insiders told reporters that Hainan Airlines has clearly proposed to ground female flight attendants who are 10% overweight, which is a pioneering initiative in the domestic aviation industry.

Regarding whether Hainan Airlines strictly restricts the weight of female employees in accordance with labor laws, the interviewed professional legal personnel stated that Hainan Airlines' regulation increases the labor obligations of workers. If relevant labor regulations are not formulated through legal procedures, the relevant measures may be illegal.

On June 4th, the Cabin Department of Hainan Airlines issued a notice titled "Screening and Control Tips for Professional Image", which, in addition to relevant daily work requirements, established specific control standards for the body weight of female flight attendants in the company. The reasons for this regulation are stated in the relevant documents, stating that "Professional image is an important and intuitive professional image" and "as a window unit, we should be a beautiful business card".

▲ Image of male and female flight attendants of Hainan Airlines. Image source: Hainan Airlines official WeChat

This standard proposes that the standard weight calculation formula for female crew members of Hainan Airlines is "Height-110=standard weight". If the weight exceeds this value, it is considered overweight, and the company will classify and control overweight personnel. For female flight attendants with overweight values below 5%, the company proposes to conduct weight monitoring on a monthly basis to avoid continuous weight gain among team members. "After the monitoring period expires in January, go to the cabin crew in uniform for a face-to-face review, complete on-site weighing and a three person interview group evaluation."

For female flight attendants who are 5% overweight and less than 10% overweight, this work rule stipulates that they will be given a 30 day self weight loss period and monitored on a weekly basis. At the end of each cycle, the crew will conduct on-site weighing and a three person interview group evaluation of the crew members. "If the weight gains and exceeds the 10% limit, immediately stop flying."

For female flight attendants who are 10% overweight, the company requires immediate suspension of flights to reduce weight. The flight attendant's squadron will assist team members in developing weight loss plans and monitor the effectiveness of weight loss.

Senior person: suspected of employment discrimination due to aesthetic deprivation of work rights

Some aviation self media commented on this matter, stating that the weight management regulations introduced by Hainan Airlines themselves use a higher weight value than the standard weight value.

The reporter consulted the weight calculation formulas of professional institutions such as the World Health Organization and found that Hainan Airlines' weight calculation standard is 5 kilograms higher than the standard weight calculation value of relevant institutions. In this regard, the document issued by Hainan Airlines has made a "accommodating treatment", stating that the standard weight calculation formula is a weight range. "The weight value obtained directly from 'height -110=standard weight' is more scientific, visually appealing, and more in line with modern aesthetic standards."

The reporter reviewed the revised "Management Rules for Medical Examination Certificates of Civil Aviation Personnel" and its attachments "Medical Standards for Medical Examination Certificates of Aircrew and Air Traffic Controllers" issued by the Ministry of Transport in November 2018, and found that there are no clear restrictive provisions on the weight of air crew members in the relevant regulations. Industry insiders have told reporters that currently there are no clear restrictions on the weight of flight attendants in domestic airlines. However, in practical operations, they will follow the recommended standards provided in the "Civil Aviation Flight Attendant Physical Examination and Appraisal Standards", which mainly control the weight requirement for women to be within "[height -110]".

▲ Image of Hainan Airlines female flight attendants. Image source: Hainan Airlines official WeChat

Ms. Huang, a staff member of a large state-owned enterprise who has been engaged in flight attendant management for many years, told reporters that the admission standards formulated by domestic regulatory agencies are mostly related to aviation safety, and there are no restrictive requirements for content such as crew weight. "If overweight flight attendants are deprived of their right to normal work purely due to visual aesthetic considerations, it is absolutely employment discrimination. The introduction and implementation of such regulations have no respect for flight attendants as workers." Ms. Huang said that from a general and rational perspective, aesthetics are inherently different from person to person, and it is very unreasonable to limit the right of flight attendants to participate in labor due to subjective aesthetic factors. "Nowadays, there are more women who have exercise habits, and after gaining muscle mass, their weight will definitely exceed the strict value. Is the rule of 'overweight and grounded' pursuing the weak Lin Daiyu style aesthetics?"

Guo Gang, a lawyer at Sichuan Fangce Law Firm, told reporters that the regulations introduced by Hainan Airlines for female flight attendants belong to the category of internal rules and regulations that increase the performance of labor obligations by employees from a legal perspective, and belong to the category of independent decision-making by enterprises. The formulation needs to be negotiated with the labor union, labor representatives, etc. "Autonomous decision-making does not mean that rules and regulations can be arbitrarily formulated. The content of rules and regulations must be legal and reasonable. In the absence of any legal basis, the weight of workers is restricted, and in extreme cases, work may even be stopped. This is definitely illegal behavior." Guo Gang, a lawyer, said that if Hainan Airlines suspends flights of relevant female flight attendants according to this internal regulation, which leads to labor disputes, once the case enters the judicial process, the airline will limit the weight of workers based on suspected illegal activities. "It is difficult to obtain the support of arbitration commissions and courts to impose disciplinary measures on employees in accordance with the rules and regulations.