Smokers to be given time off to quit?
May 4th 2007 With the smoking ban looming in England, health experts have advised that smokers should be given time off work without loss of pay, to attend support groups.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recommended that workers should receive support from employers when workplaces go smoke-free on I July. It suggests that companies should allow workers access to support groups during working hours, on full-pay. In return, NICE claims industries could enjoy greater productivity and lower absenteeism.
The NHS Stop Smoking Clinics are now available across the country, providing counselling and support to smokers wanting to quit, complementing the use of stop smoking aids such as nicotine replacement therapy. Health experts claim this support network considerably improves the likelihood that smokers do not quit quitting.
The advice to allow workers time off to attend such groups has come under criticism by pro-smoking Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco (FOREST). They argue it is wrong to expect employers to fork out for employees’ absence. The pressure group also highlights the policy is open to abuse and that non-smoking workers may see the practice as unfair.
But Ben Willmott, employee relations advisor at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD), says that support will lead to a happier, healthier, and therefore more productive, workforce. “Clearly each employer will need to consider what is right for their business. But, having considered the available options, many employers may well conclude that offering smoking cessation support in the workplace will work for their business. When you add together time taken for smoking breaks, and time taken off due to smoking related illness, the few hours of employee time and small amount of money involved in offering this kind of support may well look like an attractive investment.”
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