Smoking breaks @ work

[serendipia1907]

Hello there

Was going to ask if there are any smokers who can't go for a cigarette while at work, except their lunch break.

Just curious. Thanks

[Ollivander84]

I vape but only on breaks

[maddiemookins16mum]

I smoke but never take them to work, just a habit I got into really. The (few) folk that do are 'allowed' 10 mins before lunch and 10 after but only take a 30 min lunch break. None of them take the piste either from the look of things (not that I'd really notice).

[itsmehi]

Why should someone be entitled to more breaks than anyone else just because they smoke?!

[wheredoesallthetimego]

why should smokers get extra breaks? that wouldn't be fair on non-smokers. if you want extra smoking breaks you'd need to negotiate them and make up the time/have them unpaid

[DarceyBusselsNose]

Supermarkets only allow designated lunch/tea breaks. you cant just shut up your till and wander off. Ditto hospital staff

[Ummmmgogo]

surely this depends on your job??? teachers can only smoke on lunch breaks.

if you are upset that smokers get extra breaks, take fresh air breaks, don't try and take others breaks.

if you are a smoker worrying about a new job, don't panic you will get used to it

[EamonnWright]

Loads of places. See if it's possible to take say a ten minute shorter break so you can have a smoke at a different time.

It must be galling for non smokers to see smokers waltz off for a smoke.

[PotteringAlong]

I don't smoke, but I am a teacher and we are not allowed to smoke anywhere on site.

[AlexanderHamilton]

Yes, dh's colleague as she is a teacher & smoking is banned in school grounds. She has to go off site at lunchtime.

Where I work there is a 10 minute breakfast break so smokers could go then.

[MickeyLuv]

We are not allowed except for during lunch. Why should anyone be entitled to more breaks just because they smoke?

[VladmirsPoutine]

I think it's standard practice tbh. Only in lunch breaks is reasonable. Not when you fancy it every hour for 10mins.

[Mimsy123]

In my old job, we were told to take a 10 minute break every hour. People would use that time to smoke. I don't know whether it's still the same now, if you're sat looking at a screen all day.

[WhatToDoAboutThis2017]

Smokers should not be entitled to more breaks than anyone else.

If you don't like it, don't smoke.

[Wateroffaduck]

Where I work we only get a lunch break so no smoking till lunch then home time. Where I used to work about 15 years ago smokers were allowed smoke breaks whilst non smokers were expected to stay at their desks and keep working.

[Spuddington]

Pub worker. The smokers have to take smoking breaks off their break time. 5 minutes per cigarette. If they don't have a break then tough.

[TheFairyCaravan]

DS2 is a team leader in a pub chain and sorts breaks when he's on shift. Smokers have the choice of 10 minute breaks or their half hour one. They don't get both.

[m4rdybum]

As a non-smoker this pisses me off.

I had colleagues who would have about 1 smoke break an hour, lasting about 5 mins. Additional to their half hour lunch break. So that's 1hr 10 minutes worth of breaks every day. So 5hrs 50 minutes week.

Compared to my 2.5 hours.

It's not on.

[wrenika]

We don't have set breaks - we just have to work our 8 hours between 6am and 8pm - so smokers can take as many smoke breaks as they like...it just means staying longer.
I don't think smokers should get extra breaks though when the job does have designated breaks. That always pissed me off. I don't smoke, but my colleagues who smoked got to go and have a break while I didn't have any reason get an extra break. Not fair.

[Ginmakesitallok]

Our policy only allows smoking on unpaid breaks - ie at lunch time. I vape at tea breaks

[m4rdybum]

if you are upset that smokers get extra breaks, take fresh air breaks, don't try and take others breaks.

Oh yeah - 'boss, I'm gonna put down tools for 5 minutes an hour [see my previous post] and become less productive, to get some fresh air.'

This doesn't fly with a lot of companies. unless you're willing to be unpaid for the down time - which they are within their rights to say.

[TipTop333]

Over 10 years ago when I was a waitress I was forever covering the sections of smokers so they could go for additional breaks that I was not entitled to. Wound me up.

[Ummmmgogo]

as I said m4rdy, clearly that many breaks are allowed at your work place so start taking fag breaks! you don't have to actually smoke on them! but it sounds like you would prefer the others to suffer, you don't actually want extra breaks.

[wildthoughtz]

Where I work it's quite relaxed and people can pop out for a fag whenever they want. They usually ask someone else if they want to join for them for a fag. So understandably a fag by yourself can be a quick 5 mins, a crowd as big as 5 or 6, they end up chatting and can take 20-30 mins in some cases! Annoying for the non smokers, but as the non smokers are in the minority nothing's ever said the non smokers do feel slightly aggrieved at missing out on all the conversation, sometimes things are discussed and agreed on these smoking 'breaks' that don't make it to a formal meeting.

[m4rdybum]

but it sounds like you would prefer the others to suffer, you don't actually want extra breaks.

If the breaks are extra to standard company policy (so at my work, there was no explicit policy on smoke breaks, only that you are unpaid for 30 minutes to have your lunch), then they shouldn't be granted - it's only fair to the whole workplace.

It is not a necessary health break and is not exactly beneficial to the person having it

[Grumblepants]

This happened at my old work. Some smokers would go out on the hour every hour for 10 mins in addition to normal lunch break. But the rest of us just had to carry on working and not get and extra breaks. It caused a lot of resentment.