Smoking at work - H&S at work

Very few employers in the UK now permit staff to freely smoke at work. The reason for this is the evidence is mounting that passive smoking (i.e. breathing in the exhaled smoke from someone else) can be seriously damaging to health. Unfortunately this debate quickly becomes emotive with pro and anti smoking lobbies making claims that are difficult to scientifically prove.

But employers need to be very careful. The scientific evidence for the effect of passive smoking is mounting. Our view is that if in the future an employee claimed damages against an employer because of such exposure it would now be more likely they would win that claim. The real problem for employers in those circumstances is that given the government health advice that has now been given their employer's liability insurer would be very unlikely to pay such a claim.

The blunt truth is take effective measures to prevent exposure to passive smoking now or you're on your own when the claims come along in the future.

Suggested Actions

Employees should be formally consulted on a complete ban of smoking at work. Some employers have provided smoking rooms these are an extra cost and expensive to clean.
Unless it is impracticable, after reviewing the situation introduce a complete ban on smoking at work.
Offer employees support to give up smoking, NHS Direct indexed opposite give extensive advice on this.
If a complete ban is impracticable (e.g. restaurants and public houses) take reasonable measures to prevent staff exposure. Such measures could be increased ventilation, banning smoking at bar counters, banning smoking at dining tables etc. But bear in mind the Government has announced their intention to ban smoking in all public places. For this reason anything but a complete ban is not recommended.

For further information see the HSE leaflet indexed opposite on Passive Smoking.