Abdabz

Question for any employers / HR people:

A company I know have released their new smoking policy in anctipation of the forthcoming smoking ban.
The policy confirms the company are legally obliged to ensure that the place of work is smoke free.
It then clarifies this further by prohibiting smoking on all company premises and this includes outdoor car parks.
It also prohibits smoking during working time - ie no more smoke breaks. I think lunches are a different matter as staff can leave the premises and go shopping / pub / home etc if we want...

My questions are as follows:

What are the legalities - ie is the car park / workiing times just company policy as they sound extreme.
What would be the consequence of walking off site and standing on the pavement near work on your coffee break for a smoke?
If you havent signed a work contract addendum of any kind is this company policy binding?

I no longer smoke in work anyway, I save that for when I am drinking lager beer but am uncomfy with a company making such demands of their staff without consultation that are above and beyond the new legislation...

Thanks

davegtt

Im sure the company car park is still classed as a working environment if its their land so are entitled to make this none smoking too. Although Im not sure how it stands about being entitled to a ciggy break.

Reffro

Ciggy breaks are not legally protected, they are at the discretion of employers. Therefore they can insist you do not leave the builing/grounds for a cigarette except during your lunch hour/normal break time.

pwhittle

smoking on the land has been banned for a while in the public sector, though I don't know if it's covered by the law, not being enclosed.

As for coffee breaks, I haven'd had one for 7 years! I didn't think anyone still did them. I take great objection to smokers wondering off for a *** a few times a day while the rest of us keep working.

Sonic'

I can't quite understand why non smokers complain that smokers get an extra break

Why dont the non smokers take a break as well, they don't have to smoke to have 5 mins away from their workpost?

My Dad told me the other day that at his place that there is now to be no smoking by the doorway outside the building as other people use this point as a walk through to get to one of the offices

And they are banning any smoking during break times, only lunch times are cigarettes allowed in the new bus style shelter they have built, anyone smoking outside of these lunch times will be disciplined

SJ_Skyline

Remember also that a number of companies are including company cars as "part of the workplace" so smoking in them is also banned.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Breaks so drug addicts can get their fix. You have to love that crap.

Sonic'

SiPie

Infractme!

Surely these drug addicts will perform their work task better if they have their fix rather than leaving them thinking of when they can get their next hit?

As a non-smoker I used to enjoy taking a break with my smoking colleagues when they felt the compulsion to go out and light up. In fact I'd go as far to say that it improved our teamwork and communication.

stilover

Probably because if you were caught with your feet up on the desk with your eyes closed, you'd be sacked. "They're having a *** so I'm stopping working" will get you no where. Apart from your P45

Smokers seem to have a free pass to do less work than non-smokers. Same as women chuntering on saying it's a women right to be paid and allowed 12 months off work to have a Baby, while others have to do her work as well as there own.

Ban Smoking, ban children

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't know. I'm not a drug addict so I'm not qualified to comment. I'll take your remarks under advisement for the future should I become one though.

Mk2_heaven

back in 5 mins im off for a smoke

Sonic'

Your entitled to a break, if you don't take one then there is no one to blame but yourself

Back in 5 too

PPPRob

Dont drink coffee or tea then?

SiPie

Having been on both sides of this debate (non-smoker for over the last 2 years, smoker for over 20 years)

I was less industrious as a smoker and when you start craving nicotine, your concentration starts to go and at that point you are already focussing more on your next smoke rather than the job in hand. So it's not just the 5 minute break for the cigarette but the half hour leading up to it that I wasn't properly focussed.

Admittedly when you are seriously busy the smoking takes a back seat as you tend forget about it, but the amount of times when we were relatively quiet, the temptation to clear off for a quick cig as you were bored was frequent. As a smug non-smoker I am more productive, more of the time

The stupid arguments will now start about people taking 'dump' breaks and 'surely they can have a crap in their own time and not company time' etc etc Argument has gone round and round for ages in our workplace...

Just my observations based solely on my own 20 year habit......

SJ_Skyline

Rubbish! I've seen how much you post on here!

OllyK

I can see the complaint about somkers for those who earn a wage, but when people are salaried and paid to do the job not the hours, then what difference does it make as long as they are still delivering on time?

Devildog

Because you don't get paid to bugger off for an hour plus every day for a *** and a chat

Steve, the problem in many places is that the non smokers take the odd break for a coffee/chat/walkabout/laugh, etc, but the smokers do that too, and then have their *** breaks over and above.

I'm not saying it applies to all, but many people really do take the ****.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Tea thanks. Milk, no sugar

Devildog

Technically any company car qualifies at any time. Hard to police though.

It gets better - what about those who are employees but work from home...?

To be honest - I don't see what all the fuss is about. The ban has been in palce in Scotland for a year now, and its not, and never has been, a problem.

SiPie

lol

Effectively a service department, so when I'm needed, I'm around, when I'm not, I'm here

If you catch my drift

Sonic'

LOL I know we dont

Our policy here is that if we smoke then what we do if we want a 'smoke' break then we knock that time off our lunch break (which is unpaid) invariably we dont really take full lunch breaks, and only take enough time to grab a sandwhich (or usually in my case a mahoosive cooked breakfast )

Sometimes my boss will ask me if I have 5 mins spare to discuss a current customer/quote etc and instead of going into the boardroom we stand outside for 5 mins instead

If im buried in work I tend not to go and have a smoke break, and if im out on a customers site I only tend to have a break if its not a 15 minute walk off the grounds and then I will wait till lunchtime, and I generally also only tend to have a break if I cant do any work (like waiting for servers to reboot etc)

The argument will go on and on and Ive come across it many times before, but it actually tends to be started by the non smokers who don't take coffee breaks, but do take their full lunch break, but they never complain that we only take 15 mins for our lunch break instead of an hour

Sometimes I come in work early, sometimes I go home late, but it is all unpaid, so if I want to take a 5 min smoke break I will, but its not something I think about for ages before going having one

That said I could have been having a smoke instead of typing this reply

PPPRob

So you admit you have a drugs problem.

Thats the first step

Tim-Grove

They banned smoking on the premises (in or outdoor) and banned *** brakes about a year ago at our place. They said they were losing on average 30 min’s a day per smoker to *** brakes. What they didn’t factor in is that although everyone is allowed an hour’s lunch break everyone ate lunch at their desks and just went out for a 10min *** brake and kept on working.

Now the smokers actually have to leave the premises to smoke they started having the proper one hour lunch break. And of cause the non smokers still felt hard done by sitting at their desks while the smokers disappeared for an hour they started having their full hour.

And now the company are losing a hell of a lot more productivity than they were before. Our department manager has admitted to it.

I wonder who ever made that decision gets his bonus??

RRH

We have just reviewed our policy for the new regulations. Whilst we have had to ban smoking in the factory, I have decided that any smokers can smoke in the car park in a designated area.

My HR people tell me that I am under no obligation to offer extra smoking breaks for smokers and that we will treat anyone that goes outside to smoke at any time other than regular break / lunch time will be treated under the disciplinary reluations as if they have left the premises.

I am an ex smoker and can uderstand a lot of the arguments mentioned earlier in this thread, but I see no reason why a smoker should put in less time each hour than a non smoker.

I know that may sound a bit rough, but I didn't put 'em in power.....

Longjing

I've just had a 5 minute break to look at SN. I'm flexible with my time to allow for work demands - hence the 6 hours above standard hours so far today - but I expect flexibility in return. And get it, to be fair. It seems to me that the folk who complain (here) about *** breaks are often gone in a flash at 530... fair enough, but don't talk to me about commitment.

RRH

yep, my lads clock watch and are out of the door the second the end of shift sirens go.

Brun

There is a suggestion at our place that the Boss is gonna ban **** at breaktimes and allow smoking at lunch only. I'm paid 8 to 4, but very rarely do i leave before 4:30. If he does decide to ban breaktime smokes then he will be losing in the region of 100 hours of work from me per year as i will be out of the door sharp at 4pm for my fix. On the other hand, i might be considered a good time to try quitting