Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Himawari Life Insurance has announced that it will not employ graduates who smoke when it recruits new hires in April next year, reported Jiji Press.
The move is described as part of corporate efforts to care for employees’ health, an official at the insurer said, stressing that the hiring policy does not amount to employment discrimination.
The company will hire smokers if they quit the habit before starting to work at the company. No penalties will be imposed on employees whose smoking habits are discovered after they have entered the company.
The insurer has a goal of lowering its employee smoking rate to 12% or less by 1 April next year, from the current 20%.