Parliamentary Ombudsman rules against discrimination of smokers in hiring

Commissioner Spidla statement raises controversy in Europe

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Deputy Parliamentary Ombudsman Petri Jääskeläinen has stated that Finnish legislation does not allow blanket discrimination against smokers in hiring. In an opinion given out on Tuesday, Jääskeläinen said that discrimination against smokers is permissible only in exceptional circumstances, where smoking would clearly harm the fulfilment of the duties of a job.
      The issue of discrimination against smokers in hiring came out last week in a statement by Vladimir Spidla, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, which was widely interpreted as giving employers permission to reject smokers applying for jobs.
      However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Commission emphasised that Spidla’s comments were misinterpreted in some media as giving a green light to discriminate against smokers, although the Commission did say that smoking is not one of the specific issues in which EU rules ban discrimination.
      "The fact that EU legislation does not cover non-discrimination of smokers does not mean that the Commission regards discrimination against smokers as rightful. People should be employed on the basis of their skills and qualifications, not be excluded ex ante from proving their abilities on any grounds", read Tuesday’s statement.
     
Jääskeläinen said that discriminating against smokers applying for jobs would be possible only if national legislation were changed. Currently, the laws on equality and privacy at work exclude the possibility of any such discrimination.
      According to the law, an employer may inquire about smoking only if it has significant relevance for the fulfilment of the requirements of the job.
      "There are exceptional situations in which smoking can significantly influence work. For instance, smoking can affect the work of health educators or those working with allergy patients, so inquiring about the matter is fair", Jääskeläinen says.
     
Trade unions take a cautious view of the possible discrimination against smokers. Anu-Tuija Lehto, a lawyer for the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions, said that allowing discrimination against smokers could lead to other types of discrimination as well.
      "There is already plenty of unrecognised discrimination. For instance, overweight people say that it is harder for them to find work than thin people. I’m afraid that the situation would only become worse for others as well."
      Markku Lemmetty of the Confederation of Unions for Academic Professionals (AKAVA) is largely in agreement, although he does not completely reject restrictions on hiring smokers.
      "There are two sides to the matter. Every employee has the right to a healthy work environment. Non-smoking employees have the right not to be exposed to tobacco smoke. However, at AKAVA we have not yet thought about whether or not smoking could be a reason for discrimination in hiring situations.


Links:
  EU website: Commission is against discrimination of smokers

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