Addressing addiction in the workplace

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When you finally accept that you have an addiction and that you are ready to get help, that isn’t the end of things. Really, it’s just the beginning. Many worries will play on your mind – how to tell your nearest and dearest, how to tackle the issue head-on, and of course, how to tell your boss that you have an addiction. Will it affect your job?

Firstly, you will be surprised how many people are affected by addiction. And around these people are families, friends, work colleagues. It’s likely that people at your workplace will already be familiar with the disease and have some experience of it.

The first step is to be brave, and to be clear. You should make an appointment with your boss to tell them what has happened, why you think it has happened, and to ask how the company can support you.

In the best possible scenario, your manager will be a good listener and will be empathetic. In the UK, it is illegal for you to be fired for being an addict. Employment protection law means that employers should treat addiction as an illness (which, of course, it is). It can not be an immediate cause for dismissal. The employee must be given the opportunity to overcome the problem. So, the sooner you tell your employer and seek help the better. What can happen is that the problem is ignored until too late and you get to the point where addiction has affected your work, and you could then be dismissed due to deteriorating performance at work.

However, hopefully, you’re talking to your manager before this has happened. You’re entitled to all the same rights as someone with any other longterm sickness or psychological problem. Your employer should also offer complete confidentiality and time off for therapy and treatment.

However, your employer is not legally bound to help pay for any treatment, which we know can be expensive (mine was £15,000 for live in 4 weeks treatment, but that was back in 2020). But it is worth being extra brave and at least asking for financial help. It may well be more expensive for them to train someone new rather than support you through overcoming your addiction.

You also need to think clearly. Probably the last thing you want to do is check your insurance policies and employment contract, but it is important you do this immediately. The employment contract should outline your rights as an employee on taking sick leave and the process you must follow. It seems very few insurers cover addiction in their health cover (actual medical treatment) or life policies (key person insurance, critical illness, sickness insurance) but some do, so it’s worth checking. If you aren’t covered then do have a conversation about how the business could assist with the costs of any rehabilitation. This could be a loan, or a part contribution.

 There are also charities out there who can help with some financial support. It is very important that any break for treatment is documented. Hopefully, your employer will show empathy to you to recover from this disease and have access to support resources. If they refuse to permit additional time off for treatment then you should seek legal advice from an employment law firm in your country.

As a boss, if you have an HR department, it is best to thoroughly research what support can be offered to the addict. The more support they get, the greater the likelihood that they can turn this problem around. Everything should be documented and the issue should be addressed immediately with sympathy and should be taken seriously. How this is handled will be recalled in the future so it is important you follow employment law and offer the support required by the employee. The employee must have reached breaking point to get to this stage. It is important to establish and decide what course of action is available to them.

 As the MD of my own company, admitting I had a problem didn’t mean telling my boss – but it did mean telling my fellow directors, and working out the best way forward for our business. Without the support of my colleagues, this journey would have been more difficult. It’s been a learning experience for all of us, and out of it, we are creating a sister business Dry Holidays for recovering addicts to have a drug and alcohol-free holiday, with some support, in beautiful parts of the world.

If you’d like to talk to me about addiction, or about how to deal with addiction as a boss, or an employee, do get in touch.

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