Posted on 12/23/2005 7:13:34 AM PST by Millee
SACKED smoker Sophie Blinman threatened to take her former employers to court yesterday, fuming: "I'm furious. Surely this is discrimination."
Stunned Sophie, 21, was given the boot 45 minutes after starting her new job even though she promised not to light up in office hours.
Her bosses declared: "It's positive discrimination and we're proud of it." Experts agreed the company was not breaking the law. But smokers' pressure group Forest said: "This is outrageous."
Sophie, who smokes five to 10 cigarettes a day, was delighted to land her £6-an-hour job as an administrator at Dataflow Communications.
She said: "I dressed smartly, arrived in good time and was about to be taken on a tour of the offices when I was asked if I smoked. When I said I did, I immediately sensed a problem.
"I explained I'd happily wait until my lunch break to smoke, and leave the premises to do so. But I was told the company didn't employ smokers and there was no longer a position for me.
"I can't believe a business is allowed to have a policy against employing smokers. I was never even asked at my interview if I smoked."
Threatening legal action, Sophie, of Shepton Mallet, Somerset, added: "This has left me angered and unemployed. I shall be seeking legal advice."
Dataflow, which employs 20 workers at its offices in Wells, advertises its non-smokers policy on its website.
Managing director Fran Edwards said: "All our employees have been recruited on this basis. We can't make an exception."
Information Services boss Ian Murray added: "We didn't ask Sophie at her interview if she was a smoker because we assumed the agency that sent her only asked non-smokers to apply."
Employment lawyer Frank Ryan said: "This is unusual, but it doesn't breach the law. Sophie won't qualify for unfair dismissal but she might challenge on the grounds of human rights."
Forest said: "Only smokers can be discriminated against without penalty."
You're bringing it to silly extremes.
If you're buying life insurance the insurer is not going to examine whether you own power tools or have an inground pool.
he's going to see if you habitually use drugs, drink too much, smoke, have extremely high blood pressure, engage in activities like drag racing, etc.
There is a scale of dangerous activities, and smoking is much higher up on the scale than owning a band saw.
"Any true conservative should support any employer who choses not to employ smokers."
How about if that employer chooses to fire a long time employee, or anyone for that matter, for supporting the Iraq war? Or just being a republican? Do you, as a "true" conservative support that too? If not, why not?
LOL. You must have been brought up in the south. Up north it's called skiing.
End of the day, you DON'T have an inalienable right to a job. No one is required to hire you for anything. Go out and earn your keep, and stop griping that someone fired or won't hire you.. and find someone who will, or start your own business.
"As long as we're making confessions, sir, I also have to admit that I've gutted, drawn and quartered and hung to cure the seven people that have laid me off. Have a nice (last) day."
Snow ski as opposed to water ski......but then I should have added that inherently dangerous activity too! ;o)
Yep, I see that you are a big government lover and also love judicial tyranny. FR might not be the place for you.
Let me help you out...
...you are being redirected to www.democraticunderground.com
And if you do so you are limiting the rights of the company. If you feel this is an issue, I would recommend taking it up with your respective state legislature.
Yep, I sure do. The company/business/place of employment BELONGS to the shareholders or the private business owner. As such, the person(s) owning that business should be the ONLY ones who dictate the business's criteria for operating. Employees, voters, juries, judges and politicians should not have a say in something that they had no role in creating or managing.
You're not comprehending my posts. I'm not saying anyone has a right to a job - in fact I STRONGLY believe in the right of a business to hire whomever they want. It chaps my hide anytime I see a story about some 350 LB woman suing because they weren't hired as a receptionist for a health club.
What I'm saying is a business should be able to hire whomever they want, but then only fire for work-releated reasons - or for that person violating some aspect of the work contract agreed to when hired.
Rubbish. Who are you to dictate to a business owner what "for cause" is? If I was a business owner and suddenly I woke up one morning and decided to fire all blue eyed, pasty white skinned employees, I should have that right. It is MY business to either run successfully or run into the ground. My employees have the freedom to find employment somewhere else and my customers have the freedom to shop somewhere else.
If I had a company to run, I would fire any smokers if they refused to quit. No one is guaranteed a job and they are costing money every time they take a smoke break or have medical care costs related to this addition. Business is business.
Sorry doesn't work that way, you work at will... the employers will can change at any time. The only way you can argue that a boss can't fire you, other than for direct work related issues.. would be to say that an employee can't quit either...
Its a bilateral arrangement, if no matter how good of work you may or may not do.. your employer has no obligation to keep you as an employee. You are not guaranteed a job.
You either believe in liberty, on both sides of the equation, or you don't.
"Whatever arguments there may be for protecting one group vs another group is irrelevant because today the mob decides who is protected--and tomorrow you could become a new victim because of traits you either inherited or acquired."
The courts can decide who is protected and who is not, which IMHO is another chance for abuse of power. We live in the age of the slippery slope.
Have any of you ever seen the movie "Gattaca", from 1997, set in the future and deals with some of these issues. It's an exaggeration, and not to be taken literally of course, but highlights some interesting points.
"Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997), released in 1997, has been heralded as one of the best science fiction films ever created. Released at the height of both the Human Genome Project and Dolly, the first cloned sheep, the film primarily deals with the issue of genetic discrimination. Gattaca (Andrew Niccol, 1997) depicts a futuristic society in the wake of genetically engineered children and focuses on Vincent, “a genetically imperfect man and his seemingly unobtainable goal to travel in space.” [1] Vincent’s imperfection lies solely in his natural birth, and as a result, he is taught to believe that he is inferior to those who are genetically engineered."
Let's see...job or smoking? Smoking or job? Gee, I can't decide.
As long as you drug addicts get your fix, I guess.
If you want to talk about big government, check out the people YOU are voting for.
Constitution Party and libertarians, YOU?
I'm allowed to hope for the financial ruin of the smoke Nazis.
Funny how supporting private property/business rights and disliking drug addicts makes one a Nazi! A rather poor comparison considering the atrocities committed by the Nazis vs the belief in freedom and Liberty, DONTCHA THINK?
Unfortunately government forbids that in many states and cities, howeverin many places it is perfectly legal to advertise a job openning stating ONLY Smokers need apply.
Amazingly many here do not see the disconnect of their words....they support the company's position because it is a private company (I don't like the policy, but defend the right) while at the same time approve of government forcing other private enterprises to forbid smoking on their premises.
Makes absolutely no sense to me.........
This is England, and not even the Queen knows what might or might not be illegal under their law.
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