If a person has one cigarette break daily that adds to a week of annual leave. Should non-smokers claim it?

Question

I have co-workers who take six a day, which means they get six weeks more leave than me. Not being petty but it's a bit wrong, really.

Based on a cig break being around 8.6 minutes, which I reckon is about right.

Answer 1

It does seem discriminatory. But if you suggest this your boss will more likely just cancel the cigarette breaks. Then you won't be any better off and your co-workers will be worse off.

So I'd leave well enough alone - you knew how much leave to expect when you took the job

Answer 2

I am the only smoker in my office. We are allotted 1 ten minute break in the morning and 1 ten minute break in the afternoon. I smoke during those breaks only and my lunch hour. The other employees use their time to eat a snack, get a cup of coffee........ whatever they want. I choose to use my breaks to smoke. I do not get extra time because I am a smoker. If a break schedule is established then it is fair to everyone.

I watch folks in my office chit chat for 10 minutes at a time several times a day about personal issues. That is 5.42 days a year of paid time. What about folks that take personal phone calls and send personal emails? Should we complain about that as well?

There are folks everywhere that abuse their work time. Not everyone is so self conscious of their work responsibilities. If we are going to fix one item, another one will just take its place. Then when it becomes an item that directly effects you, then you will be crying that it's not fair.

Answer 3

A very good question, we non smokers have also complained to the boss about this. But to no avail, so just think of it this way, the smokers are shortening their lives by at least 2 / 5 years, but non smokers are not. So we get are time back in the end , nice thought eh?.

Answer 4

As a non smoker I feel strongly about this - surely it is an Equal Opportunity issue as the non smokers are being penalisedby working longer hours.
Have a word with the Management or your Union Rep.about this practice.
Incidentally I do hope you have a Non-Smoking Policy at your place of work and you're not having to breathe in other peoples cigarette fumes. If you are you need to instigate a zero tolerance to tobacco in the workplace.
Good Luck

Answer 5

As a NON Smoker we should be given NON Smoke breaks

BTW - In Scotland it is worse as they have to leave the building and leave the front of the building, so it takes longer to get there and back -some of them are away so long I am surprised they don't need to be retrained when they gat back

The above comment is based on my working experiences in England when I visit on a regular basis and loads of firms have smoking rooms, this will of course change next year

BTW 2 - Yes you do smell of smoke whan you come back from having a ciggie, who are you kidding?

Answer 6

Im a smoker and anywhere I have worked there were no extra breaks for smokers and quite rightly so. Smokers need no more breaks than anyone else and its not fair on non smokers.

Answer 7

In my husbands old job he was the only one who didn't smoke but he decided one day to take a 'smoke break'. He didn't actually smoke on these breaks, he just wwent and stood outside for 5 minutes. It got him off the shop floor and gave him the quiet time that his mates were getting.
His boss wasn't happy about it, but he just refered to it as his cig break and they let it go. He didn't rub their noses in the fact that he wasn't smoking and they left him to it.
It made the job much easier to bare until he could leave!!!

Answer 8

If one non-smoker goes to the bathroom 4x a day because all he does is drink bottled water---how long does it take to add up to a "leave"?

Answer 9

I reckon non smokers should get more holiday, smokers are always sneaking off for a crafty ciggy!

Answer 10

talk to your boss - where I used to work, non smokers were allowed a 'non-smoking break' to grab a cup of tea instead