head head head

Should my employer be protecting me from passive smoking?

Yes. Smoking is now banned in all enclosed and semi-enclosed public places in the whole of the UK, and it is your employer’s responsibility to make sure that the law is respected on its premises.

Hotels, inns, hostels, guesthouses and members' clubs that provide sleeping accommodation are allowed to designate individual guest bedrooms for smokers, but smoking should not be allowed in any other areas.

There is also an offence of 'failing to prevent' smoking in an enclosed public place. If you work in a pub, bar or hotel you may well have to challenge customers who smoke indoors. The person who 'manages or controls' the premises has the ultimate responsibility, so make sure you have guidance from your employer on how to handle such situations.