This petition was submitted during the 2017-2019 parliament
Rejected petition Equal break rights for Non-smokers
Smokers get to take more breaks at work than non-smokers, especially in stressful jobs. Many employers set informal smoking policies, allowing for smokers to have many short breaks in a day on top of their scheduled breaks. This is unjust towards non-smoker employees, who should get equal treatment.
More details
A study for the British Heart Foundation found smokers to disappear up to 4x/day for 10min each time. That's 40min of extra break time/day for smokers to relax and socialize. Just because non-smokers don't have a specific need to take a break doesn't mean they should be deprived of this option. They could, for example, go outside to do the most smoking-resembling action: blowing bubbles. These optional breaks for non-smokers should be enforced globally to fight the discrimination facing them.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
These policies are the responsibility of employers, not the UK Government or Parliament.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.