Time off to give up smoking!!!

[STEED]

I heard on the radio a government research committee of some sort has recommended employers give there smoking employees time off work on full pay to give up smoking.

What clap trap, if this comes law it will open the door for fat people to loose weight drug addicts to kick the habit and alcoholics to sober up. And a whole load of other issues like I need to get my stress levels down, etc and etc.


Just a crack pot idea which most likely will never see the light of day.

90% who phoned in on the radio show said it was nuts.

[SUBMAN1]

Don't your law makers have something important to do?

-S

[gnirtS]

Its the result of a study not a law but it IS stupid enough for the government to consider.

Its discrimination against non-smokers as simple as that.

If they are giving smokers x days of paid leave per year then non smokers should either be credited with their daily wage for that number of days as a salary increase OR also be given that number of days off.

Example, if you want to give smokers say 5 days off a year then i either want 5 days extra off per year OR 5 days salary increase per year otherwise its discrimination.

[STEED]

Originally Posted by SUBMAN1

Don't your law makers have something important to do?

-S

Some sort of a government watchdog committee of some sort, they always come out with these crackpot ideas hoping the government of the day will make it law.

[STEED]

Originally Posted by gnirtS

Its the result of a study not a law but it IS stupid enough for the government to consider.

Its discrimination against non-smokers as simple as that.

If they are giving smokers x days of paid leave per year then non smokers should either be credited with their daily wage for that number of days as a salary increase OR also be given that number of days off.

Example, if you want to give smokers say 5 days off a year then i either want 5 days extra off per year OR 5 days salary increase per year otherwise its discrimination.

Well these people don't think of the other side of the coin do they.

[gnirtS]

Here's the article if anyone cares:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6589285.stm

[Penelope_Grey]

That is a terrible idea for all the reasons listed above but not only that, surely a regular smoker would welcome the distraction of work to keep their mind off smoking?

[lesrae]

We're only talking about 2 hours off work a week for 6 - 7 weeks here guys. The end result, presuming the person quits, is less time off during the working day to smoke so the time is very quickly recouped.

Chill out will you

[Penelope_Grey]

Yeah but, it does sort of open the door a bit. I mean, I smoke on weekends myself, I enjoy a fine cigar. But, surely its wrong for really addicted smokers to be allowed time off while they kick the habit, maybe someone who has a hangover should be given paid time off to recover etc... its just like, opening a can of worms.

[gnirtS]

Originally Posted by lesrae

We're only talking about 2 hours off work a week for 6 - 7 weeks here guys. The end result, presuming the person quits, is less time off during the working day to smoke so the time is very quickly recouped.

Chill out will you

OK so pay me my (hourly rate x 2) x 7.
I dont smoke and see no reason why they should be allowed to get paid for not actually doing work when id do more work, for longer hours for the same money.

If they quit thats up to them in their own time, if a company wants to make them do it then they should also reward people who dont smoke in the first place.

So assume someone on an average of £7 an hour then thats £14 per week. Works out at around £100 a year a non smoker should receive in benefit OR time off.

[Kapitan]

Consider my job about 75% of the workers smoke there maybe more give them time off and they wont be having any half decent rubbish collections for about 6 months, by that time basildon wont be able to move for its own crap.

[Tchocky]

Well, it makes sense to me. When considering cigarette breaks and the higher amount of sick days, giving them time to quit is a net gain for a company. More time in which to make profits.
So there, its all about money grabbing fat cat etc etc

[lesrae]

Can't be bothered doing all the quote boxes, so:

Penelope: I'm a government employee who was given paid time off work to attend alcohol counselling a few years ago when I was going through, like, a rough patch. This helped me get over the problem and now I can carry on and do the job that £1000's of pounds were invested in me to do. Are you suggesting I shouldn't have had the time off?

gnirtS: Your maths is impecable, I hope your hourly rate reflects it. Don't you think that people trying to get over a strong addiction like nicotine should be given a certain amount of leeway to help them when, as previously stated, it could help the company in the long run.

Kapitan: How much time do you think is lost by your company while these guys are smoking?

[Penelope_Grey]

I'm sorry lesrae but I don't feel comfortable answering your question as my opinion could be offensive to your personal experience. But being an alcoholic and being a smoker are two different things, a smoker is not nearly as bad as an alcoholic is in terms of inability to work and to function effectively, even under withdrawl a smoker can still function to a better extent than somebody under the influence.

[gnirtS]

Originally Posted by lesrae

gnirtS: Your maths is impecable, I hope your hourly rate reflects it. Don't you think that people trying to get over a strong addiction like nicotine should be given a certain amount of leeway to help them when, as previously stated, it could help the company in the long run.

Kapitan: How much time do you think is lost by your company while these guys are smoking?

Why should they get something other people dont? In other words, why should non smokers be forced to do MORE work for the same money than smokers?
Its not my fault they got addicted to it and if they want to attend anything related to it do it on their own time or without pay.
Just asking for equality, give them time off then give the people who WERENT dull enough to start smoking either the same time off or the equivalent salary.