Cigarette breaks

[Miss Demeanour]

I have never smoked...never wanted to or felt it was 'cool' in any way. This is probably because my mother smokes like a trooper and this has always put me off from a very young age.

I am probably therefore not the most understanding of people when people in the office keep going off for a 'fag break' - like this is an entitlement  

Only trouble is they are often out of the building for over 20 minutes a time as they congregate in their little fag sharing groups and have a good old natter. Meanwhile they are not able to answer their phones and stuff. Multiply this by a number of times a day and it all adds up.

Now I know other colleagues may sit around and natter but at least they are able to deal with inquiries and stuff if they come along. Only trouble is where do you stand on tackling something like this - we have nothing in place regarding time and frequency of 'comfort breaks' only around the traditional core hours that you are meant to be at work.

I would probably be infringing the human rights of an individual if I restricted them to a set number of cigarette breaks a day  

[Snoopy]

Not one for you but one for you to pass up the line. Most employers now seem to have stopped this practice by banning smoking on their premises (that includes the back yard, side doorway, carpark etc) and anyone leaving the premises is considered to have absented themselves from work and pay is docked accordingly. That would require a policy decision and not being rude that ain't your job. You don't make policy but you sure as hell can recommend it.