For employers and managers
How to support an employee with a drink or drug problem: treat it as a health issue, not just a disciplinary one, and where to turn in the UK.
If someone on your team is struggling with drink or drugs, how you respond matters enormously, to them and to your organisation. Handled well, it can be the turning point. Handled as a purely disciplinary matter, it usually drives the problem underground.
The reassuring part is that the kind, sensible approach is also the legally sound one.
The AA Big Book's chapter To Employers, written decades ago, makes a point that still holds: an employee with a drink problem is a sick person who can recover, not a weak or bad one. ACAS takes the same line for the modern UK workplace. A drink or drug problem is best handled as a health matter, with support and a real chance to get help, rather than going straight to dismissal.
ACAS advises every organisation to have a written alcohol and drugs policy, applied consistently, so everyone knows that problems are treated as legitimate health issues and that people can come forward without fear of automatic discipline. A good policy is also clear about where conduct, such as dealing at work, is treated differently. Note that under the Health and Safety at Work Act you can be liable if you knowingly let someone work while impaired in a way that puts people at risk.
Speak to the person directly and in private, about what you have noticed and the support available, not about labels or threats. Keep it confidential and dignified, and offer a genuine route to help and a real chance to take it. That is exactly what the To Employers chapter argued for: give the person an honest opportunity to recover.
People do recover, and a recovered employee often becomes one of the most loyal and capable people on a team. Supporting someone through it is not only the decent thing, it is good for the organisation.
ACAS and the HSE set out the UK framework, your occupational health service can advise, and Adfam keeps a directory of local family support services. For the employee directly: their GP, free local services like We Are With You and Change Grow Live, and the recovery helplines and meetings on this site. Nobody needs to be in treatment to get support.
Treat it as a health issue first. ACAS advises supporting the person and offering help rather than going straight to dismissal, and a clear policy applied consistently protects everyone. Conduct issues like dealing at work are handled differently. This is general guidance, not legal advice, so check ACAS and your HR or legal advisers.
Yes. ACAS recommends a written policy applied consistently, so problems are treated as legitimate health matters and staff can seek help without fear of automatic discipline. It should also be clear about conduct and safety.
Privately and kindly. Talk about what you have noticed and the support available, keep it confidential, and offer a genuine route to help. Avoid labels, threats, or doing it in front of others.
Their GP, free local services like We Are With You and Change Grow Live, and the recovery helplines and meetings listed on this site. They do not need to be in treatment to get support.