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Action on Smoking and Health
A National Legal-Action Antismoking Organization Entirely Supported by Tax-Deductible Contributions
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Growing Number British Employers Refusing to Hire Smokers [10/22-2]
Excerpts from: Wanted: Workers, not smokers Growing number of bosses in Britain are now smoking out health risks in the workplace
The New Paper [10/22/04]
IF YOU light up, it's lights out.
That's what a growing number of British companies are telling job-seekers.
They are even refusing to employ smokers who promise not to smoke during working hours, claiming they rarely keep their word, reported The Sunday Times.
Computer, accountancy and art firms are among those openly stating they will not hire a job applicant they expect would waste their time by regularly going outside for a quick puff, litter doorways with butts and put off clients with their smell, the paper said.
The stance has also been fuelled by the rising cost of healthcare, concern about the effects of passive smoking and growing moves to ban smoking in public places across Britain.
'It is still rare for employers to specifically request non-smokers, but we are seeing more of this,' said recruitment company boss Lawrence Carter.
'This is due to changed public perception and awareness of health issues.'
Website design consultants BouncingFish stopped hiring smokers after a former employee took to stepping outside for a puff every 30 minutes.
'He became stressed out and it was affecting his work. His addiction was causing problems with clients,' said company co-founder Jason Kneen. The man has since quit.
Said Mr Chris Stanbury, who runs an IT firm that bans smoking: 'People who smoke, smell, and that is not acceptable if they are dealing with clients.
'If someone has been smoking in their car and is then introduced to a client, it is pretty unpleasant.'
Publisher Frank Woeckel says he is toughest on applicants who fail to reveal they smoke.
'If someone was found to have lied, they would immediately be dismissed and the fact that we were deceived would be noted on their work reference,' he said.
While it is illegal to discriminate on the grounds of sex, race or religion, there is no specific labour law in Britain that covers smoking.
The country's Health Secretary John Reid says there are plans to restrict smoking in public places across Britain, but the extent of the ban is still under discussion
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