Sara Carnegie

Sara Carnegie, Director of Legal Projects at the International Bar Association discusses Domestic Abuse – why should your employer take action?

The home is not a safe place for everyone. The requirement to work from home has led to a worldwide increase in reports of domestic abuse. A global pandemic of a different kind, often shunted inaccurately under the broader remit of gender-based violence, has developed exponentially during 2020. The number of calls to the UK National Domestic Abuse Helpline run by Refuge, increased by 66% during the crisis. 1 The increase in those seeking support is not limited to victims. A helpline for those trying to change their behaviour has received 25% more calls since lockdown began. 2

Domestic abuse does not respect race, class or gender. Nor is it a question of intelligence. It can occur between couples, or within the wider family unit and the damage is not always physically evident. In addition to physical violence, it includes, ‘any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour…. This can encompass, but is not limited to, the following types of abuse: psychological, physical, sexual, financial and emotional.’ 3

The chances are high that you are working in an organisation where someone is suffering or boiling over. However, what does this have to do with employers – after all, domestic issues are private, aren’t they?

The workplace can be a refuge and escape route, and its recent enforced absence sorely felt. Provision of support varies enormously between jurisdictions and organisations in both the public and private sector, but Covid 19 has created a unique set of circumstances that necessitate greater proactivity in our efforts to address the issue. Is it foreseeable that we might see litigation brought about by an employer’s failure to address health and safety where the workplace is home and the safety pertains to domestic abuse? No one is expecting an employer to solve the problem, but raising awareness and providing meaningful and visible support structures can create a lifeline.

The International Bar Association brought together global experts to discuss what the workplace should do and why, in a recent webinar. 4 Our panellists discussed in-house, private and public sector legal workplaces around the world, addressing cultural and legislative barriers to proactive support, in addition to positive initiatives rolled out within their organisation. Elizabeth Filkin, chair of the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) presented the rationale for employers to engage; in addition to the primary concern of humanity and ethics, the cost to UK business is estimated at £1.9bn due to decreased productivity, time off work, lost wages and sick pay. 5

EIDA is a business network with over 400 members, including law firms, government departments, the Law Society and Crown Prosecution Service. It works to raise awareness and enable employers to take positive action by providing online resources, networking hubs and best practice guidance. It highlights employers who have been innovative in offering further support to employees during the lockdown. For example, Lloyds Banking Group will arrange hotel accommodation and help staff to move, in addition to partnering with the charity, Surviving Economic Abuse. 6 Global law firm, Linklaters, has worked with Safe Lives to create a new policy and support package providing emergency accommodation and up to 10 days’ paid leave.

In September, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, launched a new guide to help organisations to support staff who may be experiencing domestic abuse. The new guide sets out key recommendations for employers, including developing a policy or framework, creating open work cultures where individuals feel safe to disclose, and offering flexibility for people to attend counselling, legal and finance appointments or access support from professional bodies. 7

From April 2019, legislation in New Zealand has enabled those affected by domestic violence up to ten days per year additional paid annual leave, thereby helping victims to remain in paid employment and empower them to act. Those affected also have a statutory right to request short-term variation of their working arrangements to deal with the effects of domestic violence and provide express protections against “adverse treatment” by their employer over working conditions, dismissal, etc. This protection covers both those actually affected by domestic violence and people who an employer suspects, assumes, or believes to be affected. 8

Under current UK legislation, there is no requirement for employers to support people affected by domestic abuse. The Government is currently looking at the role of employers and in June 2020, announced a review of the support provided within their workforce. 9 It will explore examples of best practice from UK employers and evidence from other countries and how they approach domestic abuse, to see how the UK’s current employment framework could be enhanced.

Let us hope that the increasing awareness brought about by the pandemic will encourage employers to do more to protect their workforce, regardless of whether the law obliges them to. To reference the 2011 Australian Law Reform Commission, ‘Family violence is not simply a private or individual issue, but rather a systematic one arising from wider social, economic and cultural factors. Accordingly, effective measures to address family violence need to operate in both the private and public spheres. This is particularly so in the context of employment…’ 10 ■

Sara Carnegie Director Legal Projects at the International Bar Association

1. Slack, T. & Newbery, A. (2020) ‘Coronavirus: Domestic abuse website visits up 10-fold, charity says.’ Available from: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52755109 [accessed 29/09/2020]

2. Townsend, M. (2020) ‘Revealed: surge in domestic violence during Covid-19 crisis.’ Available from: www.theguardian. com/society/2020/apr/12/domestic-violence-surgesseven-hundred-per-cent-uk-coronavirus [accessed 29/09/2020]

3. S.76 Serious Crime Act 2015

4. www.ibanet.org/Domestic-violence-law-firms.aspx

5. www.eida.org.uk [accessed 20/09/2020]

6. Lloyds Banking Group (2020) ‘Supporting victims of domestic and financial abuse.’ Available from: www. lloydsbankinggroup.com/our-purpose/helping-people/ supporting-victims-of-domestic-and-financial-abuse/ [accessed 29/09/2020]

7. www.cipd.co.uk/about/media/press/CIPD-EHRC-launchguide-support-employees-experiencing-domestic-abuse [accessed 30/09/2020]

8. www.penningtonslaw.com/news-publications/latestnews/2018/domestic-violence-and-the-workplacehow-england-and-new-zealand-compare [accessed 30/09/2020]

9. UK Government (2020) ‘Government to review support in the workplace for survivors of domestic abuse.’ Available from: www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-reviewsupport-in-the-workplace-for-survivors-of-domesticabuse [accessed 29/09/2020]

10. Australia Law Reform Commission, Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws – Improving Legal Frameworks (ALRC Report 117, November 2011).