Several large retail chains in Denmark, among them Netto, Føtex and Normal, now prohibit their employees from sniffing during working hours. The justification from Normal director Torben Mouritsen is that nicotine is a “stimulant”.
– Can this happen in Norway too?
– Yes, it can to an extent, says Hans Gjermund Gauslaa to Nettavisen. He is a legal advisor within HR and management at Simployer.
Gauslaa says that the Tobacco Damage Act, or the Smoking Act as it is also called, has a ban on smoking in Norwegian workplaces. In kindergartens and schools there is also a general ban on tobacco, which also includes snuff.
In all other industries, it’s up to your boss, at least to a certain extent.
– The employer has what is called management rights in the employment relationship. Through this management right, the employer can largely decide how we should behave in the workplace, and it can in some cases be used to introduce a ban on snuff, says Gauslaa.
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Hospitals and customer meetings
He adds that your boss must always have a factual basis for the decisions taken by virtue of the right of management.
– It is a bit difficult to say for sure what is a factual basis for refusing employees to sniff at work, but one example could be employees in the health sector who have contact with patients, in hospitals or nursing homes. There, the employer will be able to introduce a ban on sniffing, because sniffing could cause discomfort for patients or residents, says Gauslaa.
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In Denmark, there are many large retail and grocery chains that are now affected by the snus ban. It can happen here in Norway too.
– Yes, in professions where there is extensive customer contact, the employer probably has the opportunity to use his right of control and introduce a ban on turning. The basis for this could be, for example, that the employer wants employees to appear professional to their customers and that it is not in accordance with this if the customer is greeted by a sniffer, says Gauslaa.
At the same time, the lawyer emphasizes that there is some uncertainty with regard to how far the employer can go in this area.
– We have no tradition of banning snuff, he adds.
Gauslaa otherwise recommends that the employer, instead of introducing a ban, has a dialogue with the employees about which guidelines should apply in the workplace.
– Most people understand where the line is. It is one thing to sniff alone in front of the screen, another to do the same in an important meeting with a customer, concludes the lawyer.
No formal Coop rules
Nettavisen has been in contact with Coop to find out if they have rules relating to snuff use in their stores.
– We have no formalized rules related to this. We assume that our employees behave with normal courtesy and personal hygiene, regardless of whether they have customer-oriented tasks or towards colleagues in other contexts. In our hygiene rules in the fresh produce counter/food preparation, the risk of foreign bodies must of course be minimised. This means that watches, rings, patches etc. is avoided as far as possible, says Knut Lætnes, senior adviser at Coop.
