How much does your employer need to know?

[DogCalledRudis]

A friend of mine worked as a nanny. Employers asked if she was a smoker, she said no. Ok, all fine, she worked for a month or two. All fine. Then one day (her day off) her employers noticed her outside a pub having a cigarette.
So they fired her -- as she lied to them therefore cannot be trusted.

But really... If she never smoked on the job, what does it have to do with employers if she lights up socially in her free time?

Myself i'm a social smoker. I have a pack of fags in my handbag, but i maybe have one twice a WEEK, not more. If a job required non-smoking, would i be a liar if i applied?

Because she lied to them. Full stop. No way I would let someone look after my child if they lied to me.
If she had said that she was an occasional smoker, I would have said, okay, but please never ever when you are at work, and that would have been okay with me. But if she lied about smoking I would wonder what else she hadn't told me.

Bloody hell that's shocking.

I guess so, but not many jobs will make that kind of stipulation.

If a family don't want to hire a smoker (who will, I presume, be living in their home) that's their prerogative.

A Nanny found to have lied will never be trusted by the family really, will they? It's the lying that's the issue.

If it was in a place where someone was allergic to smoke it would be a real problem.

If you took breaks all the time for fags, or are regularly ill with smoking related ailments it would be a problem.

Maybe more examples, but if none apply and you really feel it wouldn't impact at all, you could choose to lie.

I probably would.

Oooh that's difficult. I think morally they were wrong if she never smoked (ever) in the day around the children... That includes outside, washing hands after etc. I'm a social smoker too, just not that sociable so smoke maybe 2 or 3 times a year, if that. I'd be so so annoyed had this happened to me.

However, legally they aren't doing anything wrong, they could fire her for wearing the wrong colour top if they wanted after just a few months of employment.

I'd say if your friend wants her job back it may be worth writing a letter explaining her position, the fact that she would never smoke in the week or whatever and see what happens. Frankly, if they still don't want her to work there she's probably best off out of it as they seem controlling to the extreme.

Yeah, but does she really want to work for petty assholes like that anyway?

If they're going to be that ridiculous and extreme, I think she would have hated them later down the line anyway, if for nothing more than the fact that they were monitoring me in my personal life away from work. Who does that?

But that's just it, I'd consider myself a non smoker. If the GP asks if I smoke I say no. I suppose technically that's not true but it seems like the 10 max I smoke a year isn't worth mentioning!

OP does your friend smoke regularly at the weekends/ nights or was it a one off?

She never smoked while on the job nor they could smell anything.
They just happened to see her outside a pub on her day off. Is it their business what she does in her free time?

Most jobs do not allow alcohol while on duty. But does your employer need to know how much of what do you drink on a saturday night out?

Isn't this the same?

I was assuming you were talking in general, op.

I think in this particular case, since, if I'm correct, its been shown that the smoke clinging to clothes even isn't great for children,to stipulate and expect non smokers is a requirement that should be respected if asked for.

I think it's harsh. I know lots of people that only ever smoke once in a blue moon when out for a drink.

As long as she is respecting their wishes by not smoking at work, I don't see the issue.

I doubt she would be wearing the same clothes to work.

I don't know that I would say, if you don't smoke at all apart from the odd night out

But they didn't fire her because she smoked, they fires her because she lied. Unless it was the first time she had ever smoked, I don't know why she didn't just say that she smoked very occasionally but never within x hours of minding children and always made sure she changed her clothes before working.

It's tricky as someone who has the occasional fag when pissed would probably not consider themselves "a smoker" if asked. I wouldn't. In a job situation I would expect "are you a smoker" to mean will you have a cigarette during work hours.

The thing is that its up to them to set the boundaries, whether we agree or not.
They made their choice as parents, and she took a chance with lying and got caught out.

There's no good moaning about it.

She took a gamble and lost so she needs to move on.

What of she'd just taken up smoking? How would they know?

As in, didn't lie at the time of application but has since tried a few!

Generally... If you smoke "once in a blue moon" do you need to "register" that with your employer? Is it really lying to pass as a non-smoker?
If one does one's job correctly, does it matter what they do in their free time?

She could have quit for 3 years, said she didn't smoke and then had a puff or 2 of someone else's.

Yy to the person who said working fir those employers would be bad for her in the long term!!

Some people really relish their power!

They sound like utter knobbers and she's well rid.

I think in the case of your friend, it matters because she was their Nanny. People don't want proven liars looking after their children.

There can't be many other jobs where smoking during your time off would be an issue.

She didn't take a gamble and lost.

It's not really any of their business what she does on a night out, if they don't want anyone smoking during the week around the children that's fair enough.

They should have just asked her about it.

It's ridic.

Whether you smoke 20 a day, 20 a month or 20 a year, in health terms if you smoke, you are a smoker.

It seems harsh to fire her but I imagine they've fired her because she was dishonest rather than because she smokes.

I'm with the employer here, I hate smoking and liars and I wouldn't employ someone who does both.

It doesn't matter that she was on her day off, she lied and broke their trust and when that person is looking after their most precious possession then trust is needed.

She did gamble and she did lie.

If you get caught out lying about fitting the criteria demanded for a job, you can't cry about it if you get found out.

That sentence was a bit muddled!

If you apply for a job with certain set requirements and you are lying about your ability to fulfill those set requirements, then you are at fault.