Smoking In The Workplace Can Be Harmful To Your Wealth

Ask any passing pedestrian on the street and they will no doubt tell you that you will not be allowed to smoke a cigarette inside your local pub following the introduction of the smoking ban in England from 1 July.

Whilst the Dot Cottons (or should I say Brannings) of this world sitting in the Queen Vic in Albert Square are no doubt counting down the days with a sense of impending dread, one key issue that is being overlooked is the way the introduction of the smoking ban will affect employees in the workplace. How then is the impending ban going to affect Dot when she’s toiling hard at the launderette?

Whether Dot likes it or not, the ban prohibits smoking in all enclosed or substantially enclosed premises. The launderette itself therefore will be a smoke free premises too. How then will Dot cope? Well, if Dot’s employers are very generous, they may erect a smoking shelter for her (provided that this isn’t itself substantially enclosed). The only other alternative though will be for Dot to stand outside in the rain to get her nicotine fix.

If Dot’s employer has a car or van that is used by both Dot and other employees to ferry things around surely Dot could escape the elements by sneaking into the passenger seat on her break and have a crafty cigarette? The simple answer is no. The smoking ban also includes shared company vehicles, so if other people use the car as well then smoking in it is banned.

What though if Dot and her employer were to ignore the ban and carry on as usual?

So far as Dot is concerned, she personally is liable for a £200 fine. As for her employer, unless they could show that they took reasonable steps to stop Dot smoking in the launderette, or that they did not know, and could not reasonably have known, it was taking place, then they themselves would also be liable for a fine of £2,500 (which by my calculations probably works out at around 200 service washes!).

So how can Dot’s employer avoid such hefty penalty? Firstly, they should display no-smoking notices in the launderette and shared company vehicle. They should also take reasonable steps to ensure that all their employees and customers are aware of the new law and don’t smoke on the premises. This is probably the time to issue a new policy to employees on smoking at work and looking at amending and updating the disciplinary policy so that appropriate action can be taken against Dot if she’s found with a lit cigarette dangling from her mouth whilst labouring over a washer dryer.

Published 08/05/2007.