Smoking in the Workplace

Smoking in the workplace has always been a concern from a health and safety point of view; initially because of the fire risk. However, increasing public awareness of the health risks associated with smoking, particularly passive smoking, has served to increase the level of concern such that many firms now have a clear smoking policy in place that is designed to protect employees and others from smoking related risks.

The impetus for this shift over the past decade or so is the legal imperative. For a start, the Health and Safety at Work Act - Section 2 states "It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees". Combine this with the body of research that demonstrates the harmful effects of passive smoking and it is easy to see how this exposes employers to compensation claims from private individuals and criminal prosecution by the state.

Section 3 of the same act extends employer's responsibilities to others who might be affected by the company's activities, so that the employer also needs to consider the effects on customers and visitors, for example.

Following the Department of Health's strategy to prohibit workplace smoking throughout the UK, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) proposed an "Approved Code of Practice" for passive smoking. The Health and Safety Commission, however, is concerned about the effectiveness of antismoking regulation in the hospitality and small business sectors.

The key points contained in the proposed ACoP are:

"Employers should introduce a policy, in consultation with their employees, on passive smoking at work. The policy should give priority to the needs of non-smokers who do not wish to breathe tobacco smoke."
"Non-smoking should be regarded as the norm in enclosed workplaces. Special provision should be made for smoking, rather than the reverse. Smokers should be segregated from non-smokers."
"In rest rooms and rest areas, provision should be made to protect non-smokers from discomfort caused by tobacco smoke."

In spite off all this, smoking in the workplace is still an emotive subject and can be the source of significant unrest if not handled with sensitivity. As a health and safety consultancy, our advice is to agree a smoking policy via a consultation process that involves representatives of all interested parties. Whatever is agreed must be in line with the legal requirements already outlined. Then we recommend implementation of the policy over a period, perhaps introducing constraints in a number of stages on where smoking is permissible. This approach allows for people's attitudes to change over time. It is also good if the organisation makes provision to help those who wish to give up smoking.

Although the first priority must be to safeguard health, it is also important to consider the individual's freedom. With this in mind, many organisations set aside a room on the premises specifically for smoking, though this is a questionable practice since all the smoking is concentrated into a very small space and so poses an even greater risk to the health of those who continue smoking. An alternative is to provide locations outside where people can go to smoke, providing some form of shelter to protect from inclement weather.

This is the approach that has been implemented very successfully by some of our biggest clients, where this arrangement has been in operation for a number of years and poses no significant health and safety risk to anyone.

It is vital that any organisation that has not already done so, should take positive steps to effectively manage the risks associated with smoking in the workplace. Failure to act now could prove costly and even then the responsibility will not go away.

The HSE's proposed Approved Code of Practice can be viewed at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/consult/condocs/cd151.pdf

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