Domestic Abuse as a Workplace Issue

In 2022, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill entitling victims of domestic abuse to at least 10 days paid leave each year to deal with domestic abuse issues. While the commencement date is not yet in place, employers should consider preparations for its implementation now, including a Domestic Abuse policy to mitigate against the ongoing employee impact of such abuse on their employees.

What is Domestic Abuse?

There isn’t one type of domestic abuse or a single profile for a perpetrator. Abuse can be physical, sexual, financial and emotional, and can include controlling or coercive behaviour. It can occur in same-sex relationships, within extended families, and can affect men and women – however the vast majority of the victims of domestic abuse are women and children.

Research indicates that over a quarter of women globally will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. In times of economic pressure reports of abuse increase. The prevalence of domestic abuse in Northern Ireland is well-documented and its impact reaching far beyond the home.

The Workplace Impact

Home and work issues cannot always be neatly separated. Victims often work and have roles where they work alongside others, have responsibilities, and receive feedback from managers — while navigating an intensely difficult personal life. Abuse can threaten their personal health and safety at work and is also likely to affect job performance and threaten job prospects/security, if the employee in underperforming or frequently absent.

This is critical, as work may be a victim’s main link to the world outside their home, and the only space they may be able to seek help. In many cases, domestic abuse relies on social isolation from friends and family. Work (and the financial freedom it can provide) is often targeted by perpetrators of abuse.

How can Employers Help?

The best thing an employer can do is to proactively create an environment where employees feel they can disclose that they are experiencing domestic abuse. The CIPD suggest a framework of employer support to include:

• Recognising the problem
• Responding appropriately
• Providing support
• Referring to appropriate services.

Recognising Signs

Spotting the signs of domestic abuse at an early stage can facilitate early intervention. Early support can also save employers time and costs associated with performance management or capability procedures and employee absence. Before engaging in formal procedures, room for disclosure by employees should be created, by asking if there are any mitigating circumstances to explain their performance or absences.

Some signs of abuse may include:

• Frequent lateness or absence or continuing to work through periods of obvious illness
• Decreased productivity or giving the appearance of “always working”
• Physical markers of abuse or unexplained injuries i.e., bruising
• Changes in behaviour.

Responding Appropriately

It is important to remember that victims and survivors of domestic abuse may be at increased risk of harm in their workplace, especially when they leave an abusive partner. Work may be the only place where they can be located. As such, employers who are aware of domestic abuse and fail to protect their employees at work may be held liable under Health and Safety legislation. We have provided some guidance for responding appropriately:

• Treat each person as an individual
• Do not compel an employee to accept support
• Treat all disclosures as strictly confidential
• Keep factual written records of disclosure, stored securely and outside of official employee records
• Think about the safety/security measures and workplace adjustments that may be required such as ensuring affected staff do not work alone or in an isolated area, that they have an escort to their car, or a new parking space.

Providing Support

Having a Domestic Abuse policy, with clear reporting procedures, details for relevant points of contact and support services readily available will evidence an employers’  duty of care for the health, safety and wellbeing of their staff and put them in a strong position to create a supportive workplace environment.

Providing employee training and resources can also help to empower staff to take appropriate action if a colleague is a victim of domestic abuse – this can be as simple as sharing resources on a visible poster in the workplace. You can also appoint a trained support officer(s) or domestic abuse champion(s) in the workplace to support the facilitation of difficult conversations on this topic.

Referring to the Appropriate Help

Employers’ should recognise the limits of their support and signpost the employee to relevant helplines and external specialist services, outlining the types of support that someone might need, such as: legal, housing, childcare , financial support and specialist counselling.

In addition to the paid leave which is set to come into law soon, employers should offer flexibility to enable affected employees to attend counselling, and seek other support as outlined above.

How Think People Can Help

Think People have developed a robust Domestic Abuse policy which can be amended to suit your organisational context. We can also offer bespoke advice on all aspects of employee welfare, and provide training to your managers on handling sensitive topics with their staff. For more information, please contact us at enquiries@thinkpeople.co.uk or by calling 02890 310450 (ROI – 00353 1969 7865).