The EU might be known for its keenness to pass anti-discrimination legislation – but its equality policies don’t extend to smokers.
In a written answer – vetted by EU lawyers – commissioner Vladimir Spidla said that anti-discrimination laws only “prohibits discrimination on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, disability, age, sexual orientation and religion and belief in employment and other fields.”
As smoking does not fall under any of these headings, it is possible for organisations to discriminate in their recruitment advertising against smokers.
The issue arose after Dotcom Directories, an Irish company, placed an advert for call centre staff in May stating ‘smokers need not apply’.
When Dotcom Directories’ director Philip Tobin was interviewed on Irish radio, he claimed smokers took too much sick leave and were anti-social, saying the smell would make things difficult for other employees in a small office.
He added: “If these people can ignore so many warnings and all that evidence then they haven’t got the level of intelligence that I am looking for. Smoking is idiotic.”
Unsurprisingly, pro-smoking groups are upset by the EU’s view but the anti-smoking group Ash has also queried the decision.
Describing the decision as ‘bad public policy’, Ash spokesman Ian Willmore said: “We are not interested in discriminating against people because they are smokers. We are interested in helping them quit.”
