Newsletters
Autumn News
No Smoke Without Fire
An anonymous employee tipped off the local council that people were smoking in his employer's premises even though that has been prohibited since 1 July 2007. Council officers visited and found evidence that this was the case. They issued a warning, but returned after the whistleblower told them that nothing had changed. The operations director was found smoking at his desk and was issued with a £50 fixed penalty. He refused to pay, and did not turn up in court to defend himself so the fine was increased to £265.It's a reminder of the responsibilities of all employers to make sure that their premises are smoke-free. If anyone doesn't like smoke, they have the power and the right to bring down the law on the firm - even if it's a junior employee, rather than a director, who is smoking.