Smokers entitlement

[Kirki]

I myself am not a smoker but there are people in my company who are. I work for a small company who employ 7 people, the smokers of the group are able to go for a "fag break" whenever they feel like it, whixh is about once every half an hour. I personally don't think this is fair on non-smokers. what do other people think and what do other ABers employers do with regards to smokers breaks?

[ursula62]

Years ago I worked for a huge multinational company that brought in a smoking ban world wide. The German arm of the company gave nonsmokers 7 days extra holidays to make up for the time not taken in smoking breaks over a year. They said smokers would qualify for this extra holiday if they signed up and stuck to a give up smoking course. Once the UK and US people heard about this, they wanted the same options. The US parent company and the UK company that I worked for at the time said this was unenforceable thanks to local employment law. Some employees took it to the ECHR but were told because it was a US parent company it wasn't covered by EC law. Maybe times have changed... but I doubt it.

Other firms where I've worked more recently have allowed smokers two ten minute breaks a day for cigarettes. No more. And that was only for people who smoked before the company was non smoking in all areas. New smokers who joined were expected to take in their nicotine intake during the lunch hour and did not get any extra breaks at all.

[Bravo Girl]

Where I work, if you want to have a break (whether it be nipping out to the buttie bar or going for a fag) it has to be in what they call "outside Core Time" - we've got flexi-time - and therefore it's in your own time. I realise that for small companies, flexi-time isn't always the best solution, but maybe you could win brownie points and suggest to the big boss that productivity could be improved if fag breaks were confined to outside some sort of core-time. If people know that they can't smoke between certain times, most are able to cope with it, just takes a little while to get used to (and to accept). A fag every half hour is an awful lot though - need to break the gang up and get them doing something else.

[david small]

My wife works for the NHS at a large hospital. In January 2006, they are bringing in a strict no smoking on hospital grounds policy. That includes your own car parked on their property. (You have to pay forty pounds a year to park where you work) there will be no smoking rooms, or nipping outside for a quick fag.
Penalty�dismissal. The only exception is in the mental health section, where those that are mentally ill, will still be able to calm themselves with a quick ciggie. As a fervent none smoker who welcomes the choice of breathing clean air. I consider this too Draconian, and unfair to the poor blighters with the lighters

[AliFlump]

MsBadely i dont think anybody will be laughing when 'they get cancer and die', what a terrible thing to say

[Hermia]

Blimey, I can't believe any company would allow smokers to have more breaks! Where I work smokers have to smoke in their tea breaks and no one can smoke on the company premises. As an asthmatic I think it's great because smoke used to escape from the previous smoking room and I'd be reaching for the inhaler. Our company also pays for people to go on courses to quit smoking. A few of 'em signed up and successfully quit smoking, but most of them don't want to.

[funnywebsite]

It really annoys me when smokers spend half their day outside smoking. You see the same people all gathered round chatting at the front door every day. They ring each other up and meet at specific times. Non smokers don't get the same perks. Companies should ban smoking and that includes outside the premises. It really annoys me that they stand in the doorway and you have to push pass them and breath in their fumes. I believe smoking should be banned in all public places and the only place smokers should be able to smoke are their own houses.

[Sasha13]

1. Have any of the non smokers here asked for the same entitlement and been refused?

2. Do the smokers actually take a fag break every half an hour? I ask because personally I don't know any smoker (myself included) who would take the liberty of a break this frequently (I personally work at least 6 hours a week over my contracted hours and so have no moral problem with taking up to 5 fve minute breaks during the course of a working day - more like one every two hours)

3. Have you complained to your Managers? If so, what was the response?

[milly143]

Maybe they are not taking any more of a break then you are. At my company we are entitled to a one hour lunch break. It is up to you whether you take the full hour or not. I go out to buy my lunch which takes all of two minutes then go back to my desk and continue to work while eating. So they way i see it, whenever I go downstairs for a ciggie i'm just taking my lunch break in small portions. Plus I work at least an hour over my contracted hours every day so you couldnt really say im not putting the work in. As a team leader, it does annoy me a little when one particular member of staff continuously comments that i get more breaks then the non smokers because its just not true, he takes a full 1 hour lunch break which i dont do. I also make a point of standing right at the back of the car park so i'm not blowing in to anyone that goes in to the building.

[Gevs1966]

Well said milly!

Besides which, what exactly is stopping those moaning about smokers from having a 5 min break and chat at the coffee machine?

You could go out for fresh air breaks if you wanted and I'm sure nobody would mind.

funnywebsite, from your responses on this and another thread you make it out to sound like all smokers are insensitve b&stards who will intentionally blow smoke in others direction, don't put the same effort into their jobs as non smokers, and should be punished for having a different lifestyle choice to your own which simply isn't true!!

[WoWo]

Personally, whenever people went out for a fag I went out for a break also. The management never mentioned it (mainly because the boss was a smoker) but if they had I'd have had a strong word or two.