Can a company discriminate for attending a rehab program for alcohol?

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colin79ie

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Hi,

A colleague wants to attend a 30 day program for alcohol addiction as an in-patient.

They are particularly concerned as to how the company will view this as they want to protect their job.

This person has been 'dry' for years but sadly had a relapse over Xmas. They are willing to take holiday time to do the program but are worried that the company may take a dim view of attending the program. The person has never had any alcohol related issues with the company and still does not.

My question is would any action taken by the company(discplinary or taken off payroll etc) be viewed as discrimination under employment law and would this type of program come under medical conditions which the person concerned could use sick leave for?

Any info or links are much appreciated, as the person concerned does not need additional stresses at the moment.
 
They should not discriminate the person, but that does not mean to say that they wont. I would suggest that they only tell the employer if it is effecting their workload - ie .. they are not performing properly. If everything is fine in that regard, then I would ask for the month off at one's own expense and explain that it is a personal situation, if the employer pushes a reason - then explain. I would not be looking for sick leave on something like this.
 
I would hope most employers would be sympathetic to this persons situation. After all alcoholism is hardly a rare thing in Ireland. Your friend might get some advice from the clinic they are about to attend and see what they advise. I think alcoholism is commonly regarded as an illness so I personally see no reason why sick time can not be allocated. That is just from a lay persons point of view though, but the treatment centre should know from experience what the reality is. Hope your friend recovers well. LS.
 
Personally I think it is admirable that this person is seeking treatment before the wheels come off the wagon.

It says alot about them (positive)

It's a shame how people are so embarassed about mental health problems including addiction.

They are sooooooo common.
Unfortunately many people are in denial about it.

I admire your friend.
 
lightswitch said:
I would hope most employers would be sympathetic to this persons situation. After all alcoholism is hardly a rare thing in Ireland. Your friend might get some advice from the clinic they are about to attend and see what they advise. I think alcoholism is commonly regarded as an illness so I personally see no reason why sick time can not be allocated. That is just from a lay persons point of view though, but the treatment centre should know from experience what the reality is. Hope your friend recovers well. LS.
Click to expand...

Very good advice.
 
A collegue years ago attended a clinic for the same purpose and was allowed time off work to attend. This was taken as sick pay and the company was very sympathetic. (private company) A lot of companies may have policies on such matters so worth a mention to the HR dept.
 
It's established that a recovering alcoholic comes under the definition of disability and so an employer is not permitted to discriminate against them.

However, this is tempered with the issue of making "reasonable accomodation" etc. In this case it would be judged against what would the company do if another employee required some form of hospital treatment for the same period for a physical injury or illness? Would they be covered under sick pay or is it annual leave? Whatever is the case, the employee should be afforded the same.

In the case of future discrimination (job security, promotion, penalisation, etc) well that's really where case law kicks in as it is under those circumstances where the disability discrimination act has been used and linked to recovering alcoholics.
 
I think if your friend does a 30 day program, it should not be a problem as this would be deemed to be "reasonable", as mentioned above.

If he/she needs any advice on programs, PM me as my partner did 30 days in a place outside of Dublin which I was quite impressed with.
 
The company should not put any disciplinary action upon him just because he want to go to an alcohol rehab program. He has the right to leave his job for a while.

He seems serious to be cured from alcohol addiction, where some are not, so give him a chance to change and don't add to the problems that he is carrying, it will only put pressures on him while he is in inpatient program
 
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