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Strike up the ban...
Page 40
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Following the Scottish example, workplace smoking bans will be extended to the rest of the UK next year — and workplaces will include truck cabs. Joanna Cowie reports.
Drivers who like to light up in their cabs had better savour that pleasure while they can. Next year smoking in truck cabs will be banned if the vehicle is likely to be used by more than one person. In practice most cabs have more than one user, so employers are likely to enforce a blanket ban to protect their business from legal action.
What's more, draft regulations recently published by the Department of Health will ban smoking in all public places and workplaces in England from summer 2007. Employers and employees who ignore the new rules will face hefty fines and even a criminal record. Smokers in Wales and Northern Ireland have only until April to mend their ways — and a ban has been in place in Scotland since March.
It is beyond dispute that passive smoking is a killer. Professor Konrad Jamorozik of Imperial College London has estimated that exposure to second-hand smoke in the workplace causes an average of 617 premature deaths each year in the UK — three times the number caused by all industrial accidents. Tobacco smoke can aggravate respiratory illnesses, such as asthma or bronchitis, and undoubtedly leads to increased absence from work.
With all this in mind, employers need to start planning ahead in good time before the SmokeFree (General Provisions) Regulations come into force next year.
The key points to remember are: • All work premises must be 'smoke-free' if they are enclosed or'substantially enclosed'.
• All employers (or 'occupiers of premises') must display a prominent No Smoking sign (at least A5 size) which must contain the No Smoking' logo as well as the words 'No Smoking'. It is against the law to smoke in these premises except in a designated room... and there is no exemption allowing employers to have designated 'smoking rooms'.
• All company vehicles are to be non-smoking if they might be used by more than one person (unless it is a convertible car and the roof is open).
• An employer failing to display a prominent `No Smoking' sign is subject to a fixed penalty of £200 (discounted to £150 if paid within 15 days). If unpaid (or the fixed penalty notice is challenged), a fine of up to £1,000 (and a criminal record) may be imposed.
• An employee or visitor caught smoking is liable to a fixed penalty of £50 (discounted to £30 if paid within 15 days). If unpaid (or the fixed penalty notice is challenged), a fine of up to £200 (and a criminal record) may be imposed.
• An employer who fails to take reasonable steps to prevent smoking (simply displaying the No Smoking' sign isn't enough) is liable to a fine of up to £2,500. There is no fixed penalty alternative.
• There is an exemption for bedrooms in residential accommodation.
Action plan: Consider drawing up a policy on smoking at work: plan for this and provide information to staff about arrangements for smokers. Do not accept non-observance by staff, especially with the threat of large fines and even criminal proceedings. Employment contracts and disciplinary rules will need to be updated. One popular solution is to allow employees to smoke outside, but non-smoking colleagues may consider it unfair if smokers get more breaks. And consider your public image if smokers are huddled outside the building, leaving cigarette butts everywhere. Whatever arrangements you make, the policy should be clear and communicated to all staff. • • Joanna Cowie is an employment lawyer with Barker Gotelee Solicitors.
USEFUL CONTACTS
www.smakingbanwales.co.uk www.doh.gov.uk
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland A workplace smoking ban is already in force In Scotland. in Wales consultation on the Smoke-Free Premises etc (Wales) Regulations ended on 13 October; a ban is expected to be in place by 2 April 2007. The Smoking (NI) Order has been passed by the House of Lords — a ban on smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces is likely to be introduced in Northern Ireland during April 2007.