Austria: Smoking Breaks to be Counted as Extra Breaks?

Source from:  Austrian Times  10/17/2013

The metal industry wants to count smoker's cigarette as official breaks.

The industry which is due to undergo the next round of wage negotiations wants smoking breaks to be counted as freetime.

The industry also proposes being able to extend the working day, but the union sees this as a way of them cutting overtime payments.

The metal industry want smoking breaks to be put in to the collective contract as 'an interruption of the working day.'

The Fachverband Maschinen & Metallwaren Industrie (FMMI) said  "Nowadays smoking is often banned inside of many company buildings. That has meant that smoker's breaks have become a topic in many companies. They are mostly taken in addition to other breaks. The question of whether it is fair to allow smokers extra breaks and be paid in the same way when they take more breaks."

From a legal point of view it is open for interpretation. There is no legal requirement for companies to give extra breaks to smokers. But in the required breaks employees can do as they see fit. Enditem