Council won’t stop staff smoking

OLDHAM Council won’t be taking the lead of Nottinghamshire County Council and banning staff from smoking during working hours.

The Labour-run council has forbidden cigarette breaks in a blanket ban on all employees. E-cigarettes are also banned at work.

But an Oldham Council spokesman said: “We operate a flexible working policy, which means managers have discretion to allow staff to effectively clock out, so long as they make the time up and work their contracted hours.”

In Nottinghamshire, the ban is extended to staff who wear branded council uniform while they are walking to and from work. Staff are allowed to smoke during their lunch hour but only if they are off site and not in uniform.

The council has faced a huge backlash to the new rules with critics furious at their “Big Brother” stance, but health campaigners have welcomed the move.

It is thought that around 1,600 of the council’s 9,000 employees smoke and the proposals — currently being pored over by union officials — could come into force early next year.