Q: We have an employee who is taking an excessive number of smoking breaks in a day. Can we limit the number of times a person takes a smoking break?

A: If the employee is not working their required weekly hours because of the smoking breaks, you can take disciplinary action.

Aside from that, you can:

• talk to the employee about the issue and request that they take fewer breaks; or
• incorporate into a policy that employees are limited to a certain number of smoking breaks per day (unless the breaks are permitted by an award, agreement or employment contract).

Please note: The answer is correct at the time of publishing. Be aware that laws may change over time. Refer to Drugs and alcohol in the workplace for current advice.