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A new report states that drink-related absences from work are a growing issue
A growing number of employers believe workers are taking time off sick because of drink-related problems, according to a new report today.
A survey of 500 organisations by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) showed that few had formal policies for dealing with the problem of alcohol or drug misuse.
Two out of five said alcohol misuse was a "significant cause'' of employee absence and lost productivity.
Just over a third of employers offered rehabilitation support to help staff with drug or alcohol problems return to work, and half provided access to counselling.
Employees need support
Ben Willmott, the CIPD's employee relations adviser and author of the report said: "Supporting employees with drug and alcohol problems has a high success rate with many individuals returning to work.
"But organisations must make employees aware of the policies and support in place otherwise they will not have the confidence to hold their hand up and acknowledge they have a problem and need help.''
Up to 14 million working days are lost each year due to alcohol related problems, costing British industry about £2 billion each year, it has been estimated.
Almost a third of organisations said they had dismissed employees in the last two years due to alcohol problems.
