What Are Smoke Breaks?
Smoking breaks are the time staff members take off to smoke during the workday. To fully understand them, you need to understand staff break entitlement. The first thing you need to know is that entitlement is based on the hours worked in a day. The second is that the exact same rules apply to both smoking and non-smoking employees.
Under the Working Time Regulations, adult employees should be provided with a rest break period of at least 20 minutes if they work for more than six hours in a working day. This means that, as long as you are allowing them the opportunity to take this, there is no obligation for you to permit any additional time for smoking breaks at work.
It’s down to you whether or not to offer additional breaks. What is certain is that whatever you offer, you should treat all your employees equally. Allowing smoking staff to take additional cigarette breaks, while not providing the same time for non-smoking staff could result in claims of unfair treatment.
As smoking is not a protected characteristic, you are not legally obliged to treat smoking employees the same as non-smoking employees. The suggestion to provide staff with the same amount of rest breaks isn’t down to a legal obligation. However, it will help you reduce the risk of unequal treatment which could lead to a constructive dismissal and poor staff retention.
How Many Smoke Breaks Are Allowed In South Africa?
Smoke break
Under the FLSA, you are not required to give them breaks to smoke. But if you do let employees take breaks from 5 to 20 minutes long, you must count them as hours worked. If employees take unauthorized breaks to smoke, you do not need to pay them or count the time toward their total time worked
There is no obligation whatsoever on the employer to provide smoke breaks, and indeed if he does provide smoke breaks he is entitled to insist that those employees must work in the time taken for’ smoke breaks’ after hours, without additional remuneration, or he can total up the ‘smoke breaks time’ and deduct it from.
Why Do People Have Smoke Breaks?
Many employees resort to smoking as a means of relieving workplace stress and anxiety. Also, many companies provide specific smoke breaks to their employees. However, smoking tobacco is widely known for its harmful side effects and its impact on smokers’ lives.
What Is The Smoke-Free Policy In South Africa?
Smoke Free Places
For workplaces and specified public places, up to 25 percent of floor space may be set aside for smoking. Specified public places include: smoking establishments, bars, pubs, taverns, nightclubs, casinos, restaurants, hotels, guesthouses, Bed and breakfasts, game lodges, and airports.