Don't you mind when people at terraces smoke next to you? Unless there is wind and it's in the right direction, you're still in a smoky patch of air. I mind it, and I'd rather not have a smoking outdoors meeting (plus, all the papers keep flying off in the wind). When he and I need to speak, I try to invite him to my room.

As an aside, there was a BBC radio 4 programme the other day which mentioned that Cancer Research U.K., a British charity, had invested money in reasearch to try and understand what triggers caused teenagers to start smoking (there are not many people nowadays that start smoking in adulthood).

Philip Morris were getting their lawyers to try and get access to this information under the freedom of information act - obviously to be used in completely the opposite way for which it was intended.

What makes this much worse is that a lot of the money for the research was provided by public donations.

A terrace is open-air, so as far as I am concerned, at the risk of sounding biased because I am a smoker (who is trying to quit), they have the right to smoke (as long as they arent blowing smoke right at anyone) just as much as I have a right to be there.

You cant control the wind - definitely beats being stuck in a room full of smoke. Even I want to die in smoking rooms at airports.

Here's a link to the story:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...ntral-14744240

People who have their own office are still allowed to smoke in it under the current smoking laws. Only shared spaces have to be smoke free.

Thats right, the law at present only states:

"La présente loi régit la protection contre le tabagisme passif dans les espaces

fermés accessibles au public ou qui servent de lieu de travail à plusieurs personnes."

..places which are the work place of several people

so there is a convenient grey area that i don't think has been totally clarified. If your work place is your office and you are in it alone then it currently appears that you can smoke there.

I can imagine that someone could argue that your workplace is the whole building and that more than one person works there, so no one could smoke inside

Or, conversely, that a boss's office is also the workplace of their minions.

Yeah, I had read the law. It also says that smoke should not permeate into common areas, and if the corridor stinks, it means it permeates.
My area of non-understanding was more on this bit:
If I have to speak to someone who works in a smoky room, am I not working there temporarily?

Of course I am in no way gonna declare a war on the smokers of my workplace using this legal text... I'm just happier being aware of what the law says.

You're right though, it's conveniently grey...

If I was in employment in a firm where the boss smoked indoors ..... I would simply don a work cover-all and wear one of those white masks over nose and mouth when indoors, so as not to have my own clothing/hair/skin/lungs infected with the odour and smoke.

Should this attract attention ......as it surely must .... (looking like a member of a bio-chemical hazard surveilance team) ...... I would just say.........

"Well, I love my job here, and I want to keep it, and I don`t want to complain about anything, so I`m just dressing to protect myself from the smell, so I don`t have to explain to my family when I get home that anyone actually smokes indoors here - and thereby create a problem should anyone feel inclined to report this to others outside of our workplace ... then it won`t be a secret anymore ........ and I don`t want to be the one causing such problems ... cause I LOVE my job here!"

Cool, so I can smoke in my (private) office!

Pity I don't smoke.

Tom

would love to have the guts to do that!

I hate to tell you this but really it's a case of like it or lump it.

Even when your probationary period is over, during 1st year you have 1 month notice, make too many waves and you'll get the sack, it's not difficult here, you're not so well protected as in other countries, but there again the contract states the same terms for both parties.

It depends on the situation, the line of work and the business. In my experience, companies will do what they can to resolve an issue because it costs a fortune to hire a replacement for someone they could have just resolved an issue with.

Advertising, recruiting, agency fees, and training/non-productive time are amongst the issues that rack up the costs.

Update on the situation:

I voiced my complaint today and it was well received and listened too. I'll let you know if something actually changes

Thanks for your different views on the subject, it was nice to see other perspectives.

Worst ever "I have my own office" post