Employers who discriminate against anyone for almost any reason are likely to find themselves in court these days. Unless the target of discrimination is a smoker, that it.
According to the Sunday Times, a growing number of employers in Britain are refusing to employ smokers. And because smoking does not fall under sex, race, sexual orientation, religion or disability legislation, they are perfectly within their rights to do so.
Companies in Britain that have implemented a ban include Kalamazoo-UCS, a Texan software company that employs 400 people at its premises in Northfield, Birmingham. It refuses to hire people who smoke and a job advert for a computer programmer at the site warns: “Kalamazoo hires non-smokers only.”
The only legal avenue open to smokers, the Times suggests, may be the 1998 Human Rights Act, which guarantees right to “respect for private and family life”.
I totally understand, as I'm sure most smokers do, why smoking is being banned everywhere, and I do try not to smoke around other people...but, at this time, for the first time in my life, I feel that I am being bullied! I am not a young person, but having taught my children that this country is the safest in the world, freedom of speech, etc etc, I feel really uncomfortable with the continual 'bullyboy' tactics that would not be allowed if I were a for example, suicide bomber or a crack addict. Every group of people seems to have human rights except us - the smokers. Why is that allowed??