Is this your problem?

One of my employees is taking too many cigarette breaks...

If one of your staff is pushing the boundaries on taking fag breaks it can affect the morale of other employees as well as reducing that worker's productivity. But, with effective communication, you should be able to resolve the problem with a minimum of fuss.

Your employees may argue that they have to take a break to smoke because you don't allow smoking in your workplace. But smoke breaks - assuming they're outside the standard breaks - are a privilege rather than a right. Whether you make provisions for smokers is up to you. Legally, you're not obliged to let employees take extra time to smoke. Many employers do, but ultimately it is your call.

In Scotland, smoking in enclosed public places (including all workplaces) is illegal. Be careful about how other employees perceive your treatment of smoking. If you let a smoker have six five-minute smoke breaks in a day, that adds up to an extra half hour's break (or more than ten working hours each month). Think about the impact this has on your firm's productivity. Non-smoking employees could ask for the same break time.

If you are happy for your employees to take cigarette breaks, you should ensure that they make up the time at the start or end of their working day.

You could take the opportunity to set out a formal smoking policy. It should promote the health and safety of all your employees, while explaining the provisions you make for smokers and your response to non-observance of the policy. Best-practice guidance for setting up a smoking policy is available on the Acas website (http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=696).

If an employee is taking too many smoke breaks, it is essentially an HR issue rather than a legal one. Let them know what your policy is, whether you allow smoke breaks, what you consider to be a 'reasonable' amount of time taken, and the consequences if your policy guidelines are broken.

Talk to the employee informally at first, explaining why their behaviour is a problem. To underline your seriousness you might want to explain that although the conversation isn't a formal warning, you will keep a file note of the meeting. Explain that if the problem continues, you could ultimately have to follow your disciplinary procedure.

The key is to treat all employees the same. Don't allow one employee to take extra perks others do not. If in the worst-case scenario an employee is actively defying you, treat their actions seriously and follow your standard disciplinary procedure. But informal conversations and effective communication at an early stage should prevent the need for more severe measures.

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