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Posted By Alan Houghton
The smoking ban will soon be introduced and as a responsible employer we've had a smoking ban in place for our main workplaces offices, call centre etc since our birth some 5 years ago.
We are a Social Housing Provider and as such we operate Sheltered Housing units which comprise 20~30 flats and shared facility of a lounge with an attached kitchen.
Until now we have considered that on balance these are the homes of our tenants and so have left the decision on smoking or non smoking to a tenants forum.
Tenant’s flats are clearly homes and rightly would not be affected by this legislation. However, lounges, corridors, foyers etc could be seen as public spaces.
What are your thoughts on how the smoking ban might affect these units? When is a home only a home and when are parts of it public spaces?
There are clearly strong feelings amongst our tenants because the lounge areas are a large part of their social lives.
There are also strong feelings amongst our Health & Safety Committee because they want to give tenants the best deal.
Alan
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Posted By jackw.
I assume, like myself,you are operating in Scotland and thus subject to the new law on smoking. We are clear on this, smoking is only allowed in the person’s own private living area and not in any communal areas: corridors, activity room etc. This should also be, in certain cases, subject to a risk assessment on the person’s ability to smoke safely within their living area.. E.g. if the person was suffering from dementia.
Hope this helps
Cheers
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Posted By Alan Houghton
Thanks Jack, we operate in Lincolnshire and we're anticipating the English ban next summer.
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Posted By jackw.
Hi. time to prepare then. Remember English and Scots law are not the same.. You may find some differences or you may not in your legislation. One thing we tried to get was exemptions for day care centres .. to continue to use purpose smoking rooms.. particularly for the elderly but failed.. real problem asking old frail people some with dementia or other mental health issues to go out in a January day to smoke..also great difficulty in staffing support for them when they are out...we obviously don’t have 1 - 1 care..= worker is doing group work..one client wishes to go out for a smoke.. impossible to look after group and individual .. be the usual shi. - one wanders off or falls outside and is badly injured or worse..we will get all sorts of grief from press, family etc..but no recognition of the impossible situation to manage.
Cheers.
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Posted By Alan Houghton
Thanks again Jack.
This is the kind of issue that we're anticipating.
It will be different because the majority of our tenants live independantly with varying amounts of care.
We are a Housing Association and provide low level support, we don't provide care.
We are wondering whether designating the communal areas as "public" might be challenged on the basis that it's home and not public space ie General public do not have right of access. Access is controlled so that only invited guests be it family, carers or anyone else must be allowed to enter and therefore have permission.
Thoughts, experience anyone?
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Posted By Kate Graham
The wording in the (English) ban is that a public place is one that's open to the public or a section of the public. My interpretation is that this includes common areas of blocks which are open to all the tenants of the block. However I'd be interested to hear different. The legislation will also, it seems, require no-smoking signs to be put up and reasonable efforts made to prevent anyone smoking in the areas.
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Posted By Kate Graham
Do you have a warden who is expected to go into the lounge at any time - if so, the lounge is also a workplace and covered by the ban.
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Posted By Alan Houghton
When is a workplace not workplace... when it's a home?
But a home becomes a temporary workplace when someone employed carries out work there eg a housing officer interviewing a customer or a tradesman carrying out repairs, when they leave it becomes a home again. Would anyone want to enforce even a temporary ban in someones home?
Alan
It still looks like a grey area to me.
I belive the main issue revolves around the question,"Is it a public space?". The spaces are not open to the general public only to invited guests in much the same way as yours or my home.
However, because other tenants guests can use the spaces, do they become public?
Any legal beagles got an opinion?
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Posted By Kate Graham
The individual homes are definitely not included in the ban even when they temporarily become a workplace - they are specifically excluded from it. But separately from the ban, you would still have to consider the risks to staff of passive smoking when they visit.
The common areas are not exactly public, and not exactly private - I think it hinges on what "section of the public" means. Are tenants and their visitors a section of the public?
Kate
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Posted By Alan Houghton
Thanks Kate, that's about where our thinking is.
I was hoping to get opinions around that issue of when a space become a public space.
Alan
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