Troublesome Smokers Are Causing Problems For Managers, New Research Suggests

Jan. 31, 2008 - PRLog -- The biggest problem for managers since the start of the smoking ban has been dealing with troublesome smokers flouting company policy, new research has found. Workplace Law's new guidance - Facilities Management Legal Update 2008: special report - explores this, and other current issues in facilities management.

Through a series of interviews with facilities managers, legal information providers Workplace Law Network has found that despite concerns about smoking litter, it is actually the people producing the litter that were causing the most problems.

Before the ban was implemented, managers noted that a problem would be working out how far people must stand from the entrance to a building to lawfully smoke. If people stand in a covered doorway, or in a porch area, it is arguable that the area is substantially enclosed, which is not allowed under the ban.

It is also important to ensure that people are far enough away from the building to prevent smoke from re-entering the premises, which can be prevented by creating a designated smoking area away from the door – however, in practice managers have found that staff will only go the shortest distance to have a smoke.

Some facilities managers have taken extreme lengths to combat staff sneaking off for a quick break somewhere they shouldn't:

"Staff took to finding quiet areas where they thought they could smoke out of sight. In the early days they left dog ends which gave away the fact people were still smoking within our building. We would then target nearby tenants and give them a warning.

"In some cases we deployed a remote CCTV camera to catch transgressors in order to target individuals. This has worked but being a large centre shopping centre it is likely that some staff are still getting away with it. However we continue to police all areas, particularly back of house."

People have even been smoking on fire escapes, as this facilities manager found:

"Since the ban was implemented, we've had a bit of a "pooh-bear" mentality – people smoking in areas that they thought were alright but weren't, like out on the fire escape, setting off the alarms and putting the ashtray from inside the door to outside the door, and even putting a notice on the fire escape saying "smoking area"! But we just explained that they shouldn't do that, and that was the end of it."

The interviewees also noted that the smoking ban had caused problems for managers relating to:

-the implementation of new policies
-smoking shelters
-litter
-signage.

The research forms part of Workplace Law Network's new guidance, Facilities Management Update 2008: special report, which is published today.

Facilities Management Legal Update 2008: special report discusses in depth the key issues affecting facilities managers in the next 12 months, through high-level research, up-to-date information and practical guidance, coupled with opinion pieces from key organisations in the facilities management industry, including the British Institute of Facilities Management, FM World magazine and FMX magazine.

As well as the chapter on smoking, there are chapters on discrimination, asbestos, fire risk assessments, sustainability, flooding – and many more besides.

The downloadable report also looks at the lessons that can be learned from the developments of the last 12 months, providing practical guidance through real life case studies, which offer an insight into how other organisations have dealt with these changes.

For more information about the report, call 0871 777 8881 or go to www.workplacelaw.net

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Workplace Law Group specialises in employment law, health and safety and premises management. We provide information, advice, training and consulting for organisations throughout the UK, to help them comply with the law and manage people in the workplace.

2. Press contact: Claire Fuller: t. 01223 431 503; e. claire.fuller@workplacelaw.net

Website: www.workplacelaw.net