Workers at a district council in eastern England must now clock off and back on if they take a cigarette break.

Staff at Breckland Council in the eastern English county of Norfolk will no longer be paid for time spent smoking after proposals agreed earlier this year came into force on Monday.

Council leader William Nunn said the policy formalized an agreement made in consultation with staff.

"Our flexible working system allows smokers to take smoking breaks without affecting the amount of time spent working and this brings fairness for all," Nunn said in a statement e-mailed to reporters on Monday.

Breckland Council said staff have viewed the new smoking breaks policy positively, although there has been no one employed to make certain it was enforced.

Smokers' lobby group Forest said everyone was entitled to a break during work and described the plan as "tyrannical," the BBC reported.

"Many smokers believe having the occasional cigarette allows them to refocus," a Forest spokesman told the BBC.

Staff work at the council to a "flexitime system" which means they take breaks at different times and if they go out to buy a sandwich they clock in and out by swiping their cards.

The new smoking policy is permanent but will be reviewed in six months, the council said.

英格兰东部一家地方议会日前规定，工作人员若想出去抽根烟休息一下必须打卡。

今后，英国东部诺福克郡布雷克兰地方议会的工作人员吸烟所花时间将不计薪酬。该提议于今年早些时候获得通过，并于本周一生效。

议长威廉•纳恩称，该政策是与工作人员协商后达成的。

纳恩在本周一发给记者的一份电子邮件声明中说：“我们的弹性工作制允许烟民吸烟小憩一会儿，但不能影响工作时间总量，这样对所有人才是公平的。”

布雷克兰地方议会表示，尽管还没人能确定这一政策得以执行，但大家都对吸烟新政持积极态度。

据英国广播公司报道，烟民游说团体“森林”称，所有人都有权在工作中小憩，这一计划非常“残暴”。

该组织一名发言人在接受英国广播公司采访时说：“许多烟民认为偶尔吞云吐雾能让自己再次集中精力工作。”

该地方议会实行“弹性工作制”，工作人员可以在不同时间段休息。如果他们出去买三明治，就必须刷卡登记。

地方议会表示吸烟新政长期有效，但将在6个月内复审。

Vocabulary:

swipe the card: 刷卡