Anti-smoke firm 'acted legally'

Ian Murray said the company did not want workers smelling of smoke

Bosses of a company who dismissed an employee after 15 minutes when they found she smoked, acted legally.

Sophie Blinham was fired from her job at Dataflow Communications of Wells.

Lawyer Cathy Tailby said: "There is no law which would expressly prevent an employer imposing a condition that it will only employ non-smokers.

"As a rule, an employer can employ whomever it wants, so long as it does not breach a statute that outlaws particular sorts of discrimination."

'Lung cancer'

Ms Tailby of Bristol-based lawyers Pattinson & Brewer, added: "One such statute with possible relevance is the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, but under that Act, addiction to nicotine is expressly stated not to be a disability.

"However, this does not rule out the possibility of a person claiming under the Act where they have - or have in the past had - a disability as a result of smoking like lung cancer or chronic bronchitis."

However, Ms Tailby said problems could arise because the company advertised it wanted 'healthy' staff.

"The fact that the company announces that it wants healthy staff, could be used against it if someone were to argue that they had not been recruited by reason of a condition that did constitute a disability under the Act," she said.

"In addition, if someone entered into a contract of employment without being told of the requirement not to be a smoker, and were then sacked, there might be a claim for breach of contract."

On Thursday, Ian Murray of Dataflow Communications said: "We don't want people coming in to work smelling of smoke, we don't want people hovering round outside the building.

"It doesn't give a good image outside a building."