TDC employees to pay for smoke breaks

The company has steadily been tightening its smoking policy but says it is not ready for a total ban on smoking during work hours

Telecommunications company TDC will start docking its employees pay if they smoke during working hours.

TDC employees will only be allowed to smoke during their lunch breaks, but never in company vehicles or close to TDC office buildings.

Employees wanting extra cigarette breaks during the day will have to give up 15 minutes of pay for the privilege.

Mixed reactions
The head of human resources for TDC, Miriam Hvidt, said the company has received mixed responses following the policy change.

“Smoking policies are a sensitive topic so it has resulted in a heated debate with both criticism and support,” Hvidt told the Ritzau news bueau, adding that the company was not ready for a total ban on smoking during working hours.

READ MORE: Regional authority bans employees from smoking

Over the past two decades, TDC has slowly been cutting back on its employees' smoking rights.

Indoor smoking was relegated to smoking booths in 2000, but these were subsequently removed in 2009.

TDC has over 10,000 employees and made about 3.6 billion kroner in profit in 2012.




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