Company rewards non-smokers with bonus time off

A firm in Japan is giving employees an extra six days of paid holidays a year, providing that they don’t smoke.

Tokyo-based marketing firm, Piala Inc, introduced the policy for non-smokers in September after employees complained that they worked more than staff who took time off for cigarette breaks. This resentment was fuelled by the office being situated on the 29th floor, meaning anyone wanting to smoke had to go to the basement level, with breaks lasting around 15 minutes.

Hirotaka Matsushima, a spokesman for the company, told The Telegraph: “One of our non-smoking staff put a message in the company suggestion box earlier in the year saying that smoking breaks were causing problems.

"Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving non-smokers some extra time off to compensate."