CIPD - Smoking at work

Health, safety and well-being

Originally issued May 2006; latest revision July 2007

This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:

outlines the legal position and the forthcoming smoking ban
explains what it means for employers and how they should be preparing.

Background

The harmful effects of smoking have long been recognised and passive smoking in particular is increasingly seen as a threat to people's health. Government statistics¹ show that the prevalence of cigarette smoking among adults has dropped substantially since 1980 when it was 39%, but it levelled off in the 1990s: in 2001 27% of adults were regular smokers. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) claim that every year in the UK 1,200 people (three a day) die due to passive smoking².

The legal position

Since 1 July 2007, when the Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006⁵ come into force in England, all employers will have to provide smoke-free workplaces for employees. The impact of the ban will be monitored closely and a review will be carried out at the end of three years.

The ban was implemented following a Government white paper Choosing health: making healthy choices easier³ published in 2004 and subsequent consultation. This led to provisions in the Health Act 2006⁴ to make enclosed public places and workplaces smoke-free.

In Scotland, the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 introduced a ban on smoking in public places, including workplaces, from 26 March 2006. Smoking was banned from enclosed public places and workplaces in Wales from 2 April 2007 and in Northern Ireland from 30 April 2007.

Employers also have a duty to protect employees from the effects of smoke under The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which requires employers to ensure the heath, safety and welfare at work of all their employees.

What does the smoking ban mean for employers?

The ban applies in all enclosed or ‘substantially enclosed’ public places and workplaces, as well as in certain circumstances in vehicles used for work.
Premises are considered ‘enclosed’ if they have a ceiling or roof and (except for doors, windows or passageways) are wholly enclosed either on a permanent or temporary basis.
Premises are considered ‘substantially enclosed’ if they have a ceiling or roof but have an opening in the walls which is less than half the total area of the walls. The area of the opening does not include doors, windows or any other fittings that can be opened or shut.
Smoking rooms are no longer permitted.
The new law requires vehicles to be smoke-free at all times if they are used:
- to transport members of the public
- in the course of paid or voluntary work by more than one person – regardless of whether they are in the vehicle at the same time.
Vehicles that are used primarily for private purposes will not be required to be smoke-free.
Smokefree vehicles will need to display a no-smoking sign in each compartment of the vehicle in which people can be carried. This must show the international no-smoking symbol no smaller than 70mm in diameter.
It is the legal responsibility of anyone who drives, manages or is responsible for order and safety on a vehicle to prevent people from smoking.

There are a number of exemptions from the new law:

Hotels, inns, hostels, guesthouses and members’ clubs that provide sleeping accommodation may designate individual guest bedrooms for smoking but all other parts of the premises must be smoke-free.
Care homes, hospices and prisons may designate either individual bedrooms or rooms to be used for smoking by persons over 18 years of age.
Residential mental health units may designate either individual bedrooms or rooms to be used only for smoking for use by persons over 18 years of age, until 1 July 2008 when they are required to become smoke-free.
Offshore installations may designate rooms to be used only for smoking.

Experiences of the smoking ban in Ireland and Scotland

Ireland

The Irish Government introduced the world’s first comprehensive national ban on workplace smoking in March 2004. Despite initial opposition to the proposal, compliance has been extremely high. Anecdotally, most people, even smokers, comment on the beneficial effects of the ban, for example, cleaner air and non-smokers not smelling of tobacco after a night out. Recent surveys have found that the ban on smoking in the workplace has had an immediate beneficial effect on respiratory health. There has been a 16.7% reduction in reporting of respiratory symptoms of any kind by bar staff in the State since the ban. Furthermore, the presence of nicotine by-products in the saliva of bar workers also dropped by 80 per cent.

Scotland

In Scotland, many businesses have reported positive effects of the ban such as increased turnover, productivity and less absenteeism. The Scottish Executive has reported that the negative economic impact feared in particular by businesses in the hospitality sector has not materialised. Research supports the position that although some individual businesses have experienced a downturn in profits, smoking restrictions have not been statistically significant overall⁶.

In general, employers have found little or no resistance to the ban from employees and have found new policies easy to implement and operate. With the obvious exception of businesses in the hospitality sector, most organisations have pre-existing no-smoking policies and have been largely unaffected by the new regulations.

Some employers who have not set a clear policy on smoking outside the building have received an increased level of complaints from employees and customers who object to smokers gathering at front entrances or on steps outside premises.

Developing a policy

It is important employers have a policy on smoking at work to ensure that all employees and visitors are aware of the ban, as well as to cover the organisation’s stance on outside smoking areas.

Organisations must decide what their new policy will allow. Are they going to provide an area outside but on the premises where employees can smoke or are they going to ban smoking anywhere on company property? Policies should cover use of company vehicles.

Employers should consult their employees and, where appropriate, trade union and employee representatives about any proposed changes to policies on smoking at work.

Policies should:

state that employees breaching the policy are likely to face disciplinary action through the organisation’s disciplinary procedure
set out the restrictions apply to visitors and customers
be strictly enforced across the organisation at all levels to ensure it is taken seriously.

It is a good idea to provide employees with stop-smoking advice and support. It is worth remembering that only a minority of people smoke and about three-quarters of these want to give up.

Enforcement

Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the new law. Their approach to enforcement will be based on supporting businesses to comply with the new law. However, they will have the legal power to enter premises or board vehicles to determine if the new law is being upheld.

In Wales, a team of 500 local council officers have powers to enter all no-smoking premises to ensure the ban is being enforced. Most of them are existing trading standards or public protection officers. The Welsh Assembly gave £800,000 to councils ahead of the ban and will provide another £2m for the next 12 months.

Penalties

Smoking in a smoke-free place:

Fixed penalty notice between £30 (if paid in 15 days) and £50 (if paid in 29 days).
Court awarded fine of up to £200

Failing to display required no-smoking signs:

Fixed penalty notice between £150 (if paid in 15 days) and £200 (if paid in 29 days).
Court awarded fine of up to £1,000.

Failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free place:

Court awarded fine of up to £2,500.

Useful contacts

Department of Health
NHS Smoking helpline
Tel: 0800 169 0 169

Smoke at Work

Smokefree Northern Ireland

Smoking ban Wales

References

Statistics on smoking: England, 2003. (2003) Statistical bulletin 2003/21. London: Department of Health. Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/99/80/04079980.pdf
ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH. (2003) Killer on the loose: passive smoking at work kills three people every day. Press release. London: ASH. Available at: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/press/030408.html
Choosing health: making healthy choices easier. (2004) London: Department of Health. Available at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/
Health Act 2006. (2006) London: The Stationery Office. Available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2006a.htm
The Smoke-free (Premises and Enforcement) Regulations 2006. (2006) SI 2006/3368. London: Stationery Office. Available at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si200633.htm
Estimates of economic impact of the regulation of smoking in public places in Scotland [online]. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive. Available at: http://www.clearingtheairscotland.com/facts/economic-impact.html

Smoking at work