Chatters told to clock out

An e-mail suggesting staff should clock out to talk about non-work topics such as the weather was an "isolated incident", a council chief has said.

Benefit workers at Carlisle City Council were told the "working ethos" needed to change, with the workplace not to be treated as a "day-to-day holiday camp". Chatting about weather, holidays and babies, together with personal internet browsing and social networking were all out of bounds, team leaders explained.

Their e-mail read: "Smokers are required to clock out when they want a cigarette. Surely it is not unreasonable to expect you to clock out if you wish to have a ten-minute conversation with a colleague about the weather?"