Employers urged to aid addiction recovery

Employers have been called on to help improve the opportunities for drug addicts to tackle their problems by giving them an opportunity in the workplace.

Companies should do more to help aid addiction recovery when former addicts come out of a rehab centre and are ready to return to the world of work, according to one influential businessman.

John Varley, chief executive of Barclays, has argued that employers should be more willing to take on people who have recently had addiction treatment and are looking for work, claiming that a failure to provide them with jobs will only result in them having to return to a rehab clinic in the future.

In an article written on the Guardian website's Comment Is Free section, Mr Varley said people who had been through addiction recovery programmes "should remain on our mind because if, as employers, we turn our backs on these groups we are accumulating problems for the future".

He continued that this could have significant implications for the future not only of the recovering addicts, but also on the future economic prosperity of the country and of businesses in the UK.

The Guardian claims Mr Varley's comments will "trigger a national debate" on the issues surrounding employing former drug addicts, which could help to raise the profile of the plight of many former addicts and help beat the stigma that often accompanies recovering addicts to interviews.

Mr Varley, 49, became group chief executive of Barclays in September 2004, having been with the financial institution in various roles since 1995.

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Employers urged to aid addiction recovery

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Employers have been called on to help improve the opportunities for drug addicts to tackle their problems by giving them an opportunity in the workplace.

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