Hammersmith and Fulham council BANS all staff from smoking at their desks while working from home

A council in West London has banned all staff from smoking at their desks even while they are working from their own home. 

Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham council told staff ‘any part of a private dwelling used solely for work purposes will be required to be smoke-free’. 

The smoking ban has been criticised by campaigners as as a ‘moral crusade’ that is ‘waging war on choice and personal freedom’.  

 Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham council has banned staff from smoking at their desks while they are working from their own home. The ban has been criticised as a ‘moral crusade’ by campaigners [File image]

When approached for comment, The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham declined to comment. 

However, a council source told The Telegraph that the smoking ban for home workers, while currently in force, was being replaced and that no staff member had been disciplined for a breach of policy. 

It comes as a new report called ‘Smokefree Ideology – How local authorities are waging war on choice and personal freedom’, revealed the strict policies councils have in place for staff.

From a survey of 147 of councils, with an explicit policy on cigarette breaks, the report revealed that just 10 councils allowed workers to take smoke breaks.

The figures show that 50 councils have banned smoking or vaping breaks entirely – even if staff were clocked out or walking between work appointments. 

A report found that 50 councils have banned smoking or vaping breaks entirely – even if staff were clocked out or walking between work appointments [File image of man vaping]

The report is funded by pro-smoking lobby group, Forest, and will be published tomorrow by freedom campaigners, the Manifesto Club. 

Author of the report, Josie Appleton, said the restrictions on smoking weren’t about smoking risks but rather ‘a moral crusade’ against smoking as a ‘shameful’ activity. 

She added that councils should focus on providing public services, rather than ‘interfering in the lifestyle choices of their employees’.

However, the Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Well-being Board, Councillor Ian Hudspeth, defended the councils’ smoking policies telling the Telegraph that they were being ‘responsible employers’.