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

but fair goes 2 ways. either everyone gets the breaks or no-one does. why can't everyone be an option? why do you want a race to the bottom?

I work in an office and it's relatively flexible so smokers pop out for a five minute smoke/vape when they want, just like I as a non-smoker can go and spend five minutes making a cuppa or going to the vending machine to get a cold drink whenever I want. However, if anyone took the piss their boss would certainly notice and say something.

When I've worked in bars etc with strict shifts, people certainly didn't get fag breaks on top of meal breaks; they had to wait.

we looked into this at work as smokers were taking the p**s. Legally you do not have to give them breaks, our company however decided to allow 1 x 10 min break in the morning and 1 x 10 min break in the afternoon to be nice. non-smokers were ok about this too as we all have to clock so many hours, so the smokers just have to make their time up anyway regardless. Anyone taking more than that it counts as a disciplinary as its directly against the rules. So far only 2 people in 3 years since we bought it in have tried to take more, and soon got pulled up on it.

When I was a teenager I worked in a restaurant, and all the smokers sat on the back step outside the kitchen having several cigarette breaks during the evening. There was just me and another girl who didn't smoke, so we used to sit on the step and eat icecream instead. We never asked, we just did it!

lol minty thank you for proving my point!

Why should someone be entitled to more breaks than anyone else just because they smoke
Mmh... Why should some be entitled to more breaks just because... they drink a lot of water and need frequent loo breaks / they eat lunch outside when others eat at their desk / they are chatty and spend time talking to colleagues or customers when others are working ...
You can't control what everybody else does every single minute, cigarette breaks are just one of many ways an employee can spend time not working.

I can only comment on where I work - if you work full time hours you get 10 mins break in the morning, 30 mins for lunch and 10 mins break in the afternoon. They are all the breaks you get. Smokers go and smoke in them if they want to, and non smokers can just get a break and a leg stretch or whatever away from their desk.

In my job we have one break which is an hour lunch. All the smokers can pop in and out whenever they like for a cigarette as long as they don't take the piss.

However one of my colleagues seems to have a 10 minute fag break every hour which is highly annoying and I'm not quite sure how they get away with it!

I work in a very laid back office. We get an hour for lunch, and then just go and get coffee/go for a smoke whenever we want. Smokers don't get more breaks, they just tend to spend less time making coffee chatting for 15 or 20 minutes in the kitchen.

I don't smoke.

But here's my take on it: it's a horrible, degrading, health-harming addiction, foisted upon people often at a young age. It disproportionately affects those on low incomes, sucking up their money and obliterating their well-being,.... and all of this legally sanctioned?!! Unbe-fucking-lievable! And for those people who do smoke, it's an addiction not a character weakness. So...governments have allowed this to happen, currently and historically, whilst the working classes and those experiencing poverty and stress disproportionately suffer the consequences to their health and finances. Until far-reaching programmes sufficiently redress the harm that the governments' greedy support of tobacco companies has impacted on multiple generations, then, quite frankly, let tobacco breaks be fully funded for those people afflicted with this. And I mean, government funded. I'm a tax-payer; I will pay. In the same way that I willingly would pay for the survivors of an industrial accident (Bhopal et al). Because it's comparatively shameful that this has been allowed to happen.

let tobacco breaks be fully funded for those people afflicted with this. And I mean, government funded. I'm a tax-payer; I will pay.

This is just ridiculous. Smokers aren't afflicted, it's not a disease, it's a fucking choice.

There isn't enough money to go around for the people who really need it, so there certainly isn't any spare for those who are happily killing themselves and selfishly affecting the health of those around them at the same time.

My addiction is fresh air, which is often at a premium in a badly designed air con office. Would I get regular breaks for that?

Smoking is a choice. Druggie breaks are not usual.

urubu in my experience the average wee take me about 3 minutes from the moment I leave my desk to getting back to it.

Smokers on the other hand: wander to the lift. Wait for lift. Go down xx floors. Smoke cigarette. Wait for lift again. Come back up xx floors. Wash hands, head back to desk. This take far, far longer....even without the hand washing.

I'd have thought it was pretty standard.
I've never worked anywhere where people could wander off during work time to have a smoke. Although in my younger days I worked in places where you could smoke in the workplace.

I can wander off when i wantt and have a fag, our rules our you have half hour dinner and two ten minute breaks which i split into four 5 minute ones and can take when i want. Clearly i have a better deal than most.

our rules are even

our rules are even

My last job we could wander off whenever we wanted, I was a cleaner so didn't matter as long as everything was done.

We have an hour lunch then at 10.30 and 4 there is a designated 10 minute break for those who want to smoke. It used to piss me off so much that I would go downstairs and stand outside even if I wasn't smoking (out of the way of the smokers of course) just to make a point. Then a Tesco opened up a 30 second walk from my work so used to plod over there at 10.30 and 4 to get my lunch or a snack alongside other colleagues. Our CEO stood in front of the whole office and said about how the trips to the shop at this time have to stop. I've never in my whole working career seen so many people complain to HR in one day after he said that. It was so grossly unfair as he did not say anything about smoking breaks stopping. After that, an email got sent out and smoking breaks were stopped also. There was complete uproar in the office but I just thought too right 😂 now we only have 1 break a day at 11am for 15 minutes and that includes anyone who wants to go shop or have a fag and that's it.

Our employees don't get smoke breaks. The smokers were offered the option of 2 x 5 min smoking breaks per shift, as long as they stayed 10 minutes late to make up the time. Funnily enough they declined the offer

But fair goes 2 ways. either everyone gets the breaks or no-one does. why can't everyone be an option? why do you want a race to the bottom?

'Race to the bottom'? Seriously?

This isn't about cutting down on the number of breaks people are entitled to - it's about stopping smokers from taking the piss.

I'm a smoker - I only smoke on my lunch break (cos I'm well aware it pisses non-smokers off us smokers seeming to have more breaks than them)...

I used to be quite a heavy smoker, gave up years ago - and I managed to go all morning without a cigarette break. I'd have one before I went into work and wouldn't have another until my lunch break - small company with no proper coffee breaks - wouldn't get another one until I got in my car at the end of the day when I'd sit and have one before driving home.

All this popping outside for a fag is completely unreasonable. And all those ten minutes that smokers take while they're outside the building smoking must add up to quite a few extra hours off work over a year.

yes seriously. we work the longest hours in Europe. I think if you are noticing people having more breaks then you, taking more breaks yourself will lead to a mental healthier workplace. also we don't know what this is about op hasn't been back!

Both of my assistants at work smoke. They definitely get more breaks than I do! Most of the time I'm okay with it but when they try to take the mick and I've not stopped then it becomes unacceptable.
You aren't entitled to go out for a cigarette because you smoke. No extra allowances/breaks should be given just so that people can feed their addictions!
They don't seemingly have more breaks - they do have more breaks because I have to cover for them whilst they go for their fags!