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Smoking Ban - 1 July 2007

How The Smoking Ban Will Hit The Workplace And Office

Under the terms of the Health Act 2006, a ban on smoking in the workplace and certain types of premises and vehicles comes into force in England on Sunday, 1 July 2007.

 

The legislation divides buildings into several different categories:

Enclosed: has a roof or ceiling and, except for doors, windows and passageways, the building is wholly enclosed either permanently or temporarily.

Substantially enclosed: has a roof or ceiling but there are permanent openings in the walls which have less than half the total area of the walls.  When assessing openings, no account is to be taken of doors, windows and the like which can be open or shut.

Private dwellings: private residential dwellings including self-contained residential accommodation for temporary or holiday use.  Included are garages, outhouses and the like which are exclusively for the use of the occupants.

Designated rooms: rooms for guests that have been designated in writing by the person in charge of the premises that smoking is permitted.

 

ISSUES FOR THE SMALLER BUSINESS:

 

Offices If a room is a dedicated office it will need to be made a smoke-free place if any of the following apply, even if only one person is there at a time or if the use is irregular:

§         More than one person, who does not live in the dwelling, works there;

§         One person who does not live in the dwelling and one or more people who do live in the dwelling, work there;

§         One person works in the office and, in the course of that work, people who do not live in the dwelling are invited into that area.

The ban will not apply if the room has non-workplace uses e.g. if suppliers/agents are invited into the domestic kitchen to discuss work matters, or if a computer is used in a corner of the kitchen/living room to keep records and sometimes an employee uses that computer.

All full time dedicated offices will be covered by the ban.

 

Vehicles  Enclosed vehicles are those that are “enclosed wholly or partly by a roof and by any door or window that may be opened”.  Therefore, a vehicle with an open window/sunroof will still be enclosed.  A convertible vehicle with a roof that is completely stowed away and not covering any part of the vehicle should not be considered to be enclosed when the roof is stowed away, however it would be enclosed when the roof is closed.

               Enclosed vehicles that are used by two or more people in the course of their employment will need to be smoke-free.  This applies to all vehicles, not just those that are used on roads, and they will need to be smoke-free if two or more people use them – even if different people use them at different times.

               The new law will require vehicles to be smoke-free if they are used to transport members of the public or are used in the course of paid or voluntary work by more than one person – regardless of whether they are in the vehicle at the same time.

 

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation  If smoking is to be permitted, use must be made of the provisions to designate a bedroom in which smoking is permitted.  If guests use other areas of the house, e.g. dining room or lounge, these rooms will need to be smoke-free.  Care will have to be taken to ensure that all requirements for designation are met.  S.4 of the Smoke-Free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations 2007 contains the list of all the things which need to be done to designate a bedroom as a smoking room.

 

A designated room must have a ceiling and be enclosed on all sides, not have ventilation systems which ventilate into any other part of the premises or into smoke-free premises, have mechanically closing doors and be clearly marked as a room in which smoking is permitted.  The room cannot be used for any other purpose and although the law allows for this exemption, there is no legal obligation for any workplace to offer designated rooms and employers will still have legal responsibilities to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees under pre-existing health and safety at work laws.

 

Smoking zones and shelters  If workers are to be provided with smoking areas, those areas should not be enclosed or substantially enclosed.

 

COMPLIANCE

 

Employers should have in place a written no smoking policy – a template is available from Smoke-Free England (telephone 0800 1691697 or via www.smokefreeengland.co.uk).

 

Good clear signage of the approved type must be displayed in all entrances to all buildings to which the ban applies.  It is the duty of the occupier or manager of the premises to ensure that this is the case.  The signs must be at least A5 size, show the no smoking logo and clearly show the phrase “No smoking.  It is against the law to smoke on these premises”.  The word premises can be changed to a more specific word such as “office”.

 

No smoking signs should also be displayed in vehicles.  These must contain the recognised no smoking logo and be at least 70mm in diameter.

 

It would be good practice for employers to:

§         make sure everyone affected knows what changes will be made so that they are clear about where they may/may not smoke.  Clearly displayed signs will help.  A letter/statement explaining the new rules could be given to employees in advance and the rules displayed on staff notice boards;

§         explain the consequences of failing to abide by the new rules;

§         ensure that all managers/supervisors are aware of the new rules and what they should do if they find people breaking them;

§         give employees plenty of notice of the changes so that they can think about the adjustments they will need to make;

§         ensure that any contractors or other people visiting or working on the premises are made aware of the smoke-free policy. 

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE RULES ARE BREACHED?

 

There will be a variety of criminal offences relating to the new legislation, including:

 

Ø       Smoking in a smoke-free premises/vehicle – a maximum fine of £200 in court or a fixed penalty notice for £50, reduced to £30 if paid within 15 days.

 

Ø       Failure by the person in control of premises to display no smoking signs – a maximum fined of £1,000 in court or a fixed penalty notice for £200 or £150 if paid within 15 days.

 

Ø       Failure by a person in charge to prevent smoking in a smoke-free place (premises or a vehicle) – a fine of up to £2,500.