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2010-11-03 07:03:53
By Tom Geoghegan BBC News Magazine
Smokers working at a district council must clock out when they nip outside for a fag. So is it fair that employees who smoke do it in their own time?
They're a familiar sight in British towns and cities, huddled at the foot of office blocks under wisps of smoke.
These are the outsiders, both figuratively and literally, who grab a few minutes away from their desk or the shop floor to have a cigarette.
The number of pavement puffers swelled with the demise of the office smoking room when legislation in Scotland in 2006 and the rest of the UK a year later spelt the end of smoking in enclosed public places.
But should they be paying back the time they spend away from their work?
For hundreds of staff at Breckland Council in Norfolk, that is now the reality. On Monday, the district council began a regime of compulsory clocking in and out for smoking breaks, thereby joining some other employers in the public and private sectors who have done the same.
William Nunn, leader of the council, says the move was not initiated by staff resentful that colleagues kept deserting their desk, but by smokers themselves.
"This all came about when staff contacted our HR team because they were confused about what the policy was on clocking out for smoking breaks. Some of the smokers were concerned because many of them, 54% it turned out, clocked out."
Continue reading the main story
What does the law say?
"Employers are not obligated to allow employees to have any smoking breaks at all, and they are legally required to prevent employees from smoking in the workplace. Generally, employees working a shift of six hours or more are entitled to a 20-minute unpaid break during their shift. The entitlement is to one break only and you can normally take this away from your workstation. However, there is an exemption to this where there is a requirement for a permanent presence."
Peter Done
Peninsula, an employment law consultancy
All 280 staff were surveyed about it and expressed a desire to formalise the policy so that smokers had to clock out for breaks, in the same way that staff would if they nipped out to Tesco, says Mr Nunn. That doesn't apply to coffee breaks because the kitchens are in the building.
"I would suggest that all staff take breaks. The difference is that smokers are taking additional breaks. Everyone, non-smokers and smokers, goes for a wander or for a coffee and we're not suggesting that they should be clocked. We have a policy around personal internet use - that it should only be in free time - and there are undoubtedly breaches of that, like in any company."
There was no suggestion the previous system was being abused, he says, and there have been no objections from the council's 53 smokers. Indeed, many have said they prefer to clock out so their time out is not frowned upon by resentful non-smoking colleagues.
'Tensions over breaks'
The length and frequency of the smoking breaks his employees take varies, says Mr Nunn. Some say they have a couple a day for 4-5 minutes, but others say they have three or four which could last up to 20 minutes if they have clocked out and had a good chat.
On average, a smoker spends an hour each day on a fag break, according to research published last month by www.onepoll.com, who contacted 2,500 adult smokers in the UK. This was usually made up of four 15-minute breaks a day, or a year over their working life.
Smokers have to make up the time taken for cigarette breaks
But a previous study in 2003, by employment law firm Croner Consulting, estimated that it was more likely to be three five-minute breaks a day, making about eight working days a year. The Leicestershire firm said it would receive up to 100 calls a week from bosses worried about what to do about it.
One company head who found smoking to be particularly divisive was Robert King, who managed his own security company in Sheffield, which employed between five and 15 people during his five years as the director.
"There was serious tension at one point when one member of staff, a smoker, didn't respect the rights of the non-smokers because as part of a group of employees performing a task, he would go out for fag, which was disruptive to the team."
Start Quote
Whether it's outside the office or the pub or restaurant we're all lepers and persona non grata now
End Quote Richard Hancock Smoker
A clocking-on system would have addressed these kind of problems because it makes smokers accountable to themselves, says the 46-year-old former smoker, who believes too many smokers think only about their next cigarette and not the team.
"It's frustrating as a boss because you are virtually powerless. Everyone has a right, if they choose to smoke, but where that right ends is the issue that is contentious within business."
Clocking off is another example of employers making life as difficult as possible for smokers, says Simon Clark, the director of pro-smoking lobby group Forest, who says it's unfair to penalise these breaks but not others.
"There's no evidence that smokers are working fewer hours than non-smokers. They come out with all these statistics but they are based on 'guestimates'. Can non-smokers truthfully say they're not making personal phone calls, browsing the internet or taking coffee breaks?
"The problem is that when smokers take a break it's very visible because they have to go outside."
This might seem a reasonable policy but where does it end, he asks. Already some companies are placing recruitment adverts asking for non-smokers, forcing smokers to lie when questioned at an interview.
Breaks of any form are absolutely essential, says Cary Cooper, a professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University Especially for British workers, who he says slog the longest hours in the EU, often in front of a computer, but are among the least productive.
'Smokers have the right idea'
Clare Evans, time management expert
"People are working longer and harder than ever before. Quite a lot of people are about to lose their jobs in the public sector and this will impact on the private sector also. Fewer people are going to be doing more work. Given this scenario, breaks are more important than ever before."
Fag breaks give smokers the opportunity to chat and socialise, which can help the business, he says.
"If most of us are going to work and are in front of our machines, tending to e-mails and everything, we're not relating to other people. When we take a break we're talking to colleagues and that's ultimately important for teamwork and meeting people's social needs. Breaks aren't just about getting away from the computer but having contact with colleagues, which I think has an indirect benefit on productivity."
Breaks should be for everybody, he says, and unless the clocking-out policy applies to all kinds of breaks, it merely victimises smokers.
A better solution would be giving all staff a 15-minute break in the morning, another in the afternoon, and an hour for lunch. Any additional breaks, for smoking or whatever, can be on the clock.
"It's all about the T-word. The more you trust people the better. And if people undermine that trust then give them feedback."
Below is a selection of your comments
As a smoker I'll admit to getting a bit of a hard time when I take a smoke break. It doesn't bother me too much as I know I'm valued but in reality non-smokers waste just as much time on coffee or chat breaks. This is can be a bit annoying as in reality I spend 99% of my smoke "break" reading e-mail on my phone. Just because you are smoking doesn't mean you aren't working, that's the beauty of technology.
Sean Shafer, Houston, US
It is not a case of smoking breaks v. other types of breaks. We started studying breaks in our organisation to formulate policy, and found that smokers had their breaks in addition to coffee breaks, standing around chatting, and surfing. They were simply taking extra breaks over and above everyone else.
Colin, Darmstadt, Germany
I had several friends in high school start smoking because it allowed them to slack off at their retail jobs. I worked my 8 hour shift with a 30 min lunch and two 15 minute breaks while they took an additional 45 mins or more to go smoke throughout their shift. I haven't noticed this in the adult cubicle life I live now, however.
Sara P, Renton, WA, USA
As a smoker I've often considered this issue when stepping out for a cigarette break, and often conclude I shouldn't be paid for indulging in my habit. But then this depends on the job. When at university I worked in retail, and the consequences of me smoking were that my colleagues were picking up the slack for my absence. However, since graduating, my office job has been largely email based, the worst consequences being a delay in correspondence. Overall, the issue rests on the consequences an addiction to smoking makes on your co-workers and job. But then if it was judged on this, discrimination claims would probably result between employment sectors.
Tom, Brighton, UK
I agree with Mr. Cooper. A savvy employer trusts their workers enough to give not just smokers, but everyone a chance to grab a small break here and there throughout the day, and only acts when it becomes disruptive. I know myself enough to say that I work much better over my shift if I can break, instead of working straight through it.
James Vargas, Horace ND, United States
I am a smoker, and already make up time from my breaks. I have noticed, however, that it seems to be acceptable for 40 minute coffee breaks, or standing around for an hour chatting; whereas a 10 minute cigarette break is frowned upon. Why is one type of break frowned on, and not another?
Peter, Reading
"Everyone gets through the day in different ways. Some take coffee breaks, others go out for a cigarette." Really? The smokers don't have a coffee break too? I am surprised...
Julie, Leicester
Is it really so hard to go 3 - 4 hours without a cigarette? Have one before you come in and then wait till lunch time for another. Most of these people will have been on an aeroplane for longer and will have had to manage going without one then!
Liz, Reading, Berks, UK
I work for a company where we are not allowed breaks full stop, smokers and non smokers come in the morning and other than the 30 minute lunch break we are not allowed to just nip for a coffee, chat or cigarette. We would love the option of nipping for a cigarette or chat and clocking in and out would be no problem to us if we was allowed.
Louisa, Warrington
As a smoker who used to work in a government dept. When we had a break the 'smokers' would get the tea/coffee cups and go outside for a smoke. The non-smokers would remain in the staff room. When the smokers came back in this encouraged all staff to return to their desks. More non-smokers than smokers would take a longer break and were slower to return to their desks as they seemed more settled in the staff room. I think that if a company was against employees smoking then don't employ smokers or as the manager have a clear policy on breaks for smoking or refreshments and nipping to the shops.
Fiona, Glasgow