Domestic violence is among the more frequent ways by which women are injured.
Is it time to consider introducing domestic violence leave, or “safe” leave, for those in the workforce who are subjected to abuse in their personal lives? While not strictly a workplace matter, local employers and organisations are increasingly recognising that suffering trauma outside of the office can have a real, and often significant, impact on their employees' professional lives.
Last year, the telecommunications company Vodafone announced the introduction of 10 days’ paid leave for all workers in their global business. Alongside time off, the organisation also provides access to specialist support for employees who have experienced domestic violence and specialist training for managers.
Currently, no law in Malta provides an entitlement to paid time off for those suffering domestic violence or abuse. Some countries have already legislated for such an entitlement, and the list is growing longer with time.
The government in Northern Ireland introduced Statutory Safe Leave. This gives victims of domestic abuse, from day one of employment, 10 days of paid leave each year to deal with related issues. This includes finding alternative accommodation, protecting family members, and getting welfare and healthcare support.
In July 2018, New Zealand enacted new legislation creating a statutory right to 10 days’ paid leave for all employees. As provided by the law, the leave can be used to protect the individual and any children, find a new home, or leave the perpetrator. Other countries that have similar provisions include the Philippines, Australia and Canada.
Having a domestic or safe leave policy will ensure those who are suffering from abuse in their personal lives are provided with resources and time off work when appropriate. This prevents employees from being left with a choice of using up their holiday leave entitlement or using sick leave for this period, the use of which will subsequently be managed under the organisation’s absence management policy should their cumulated sick leave reach a certain level.
Having the ability to take such time off work, with the support and understanding of the organisation, also prevents "presenteeism,” where an employee attends work while not physically or mentally well.
Needless to say, this type of leave does require a certain degree of trust and proper management because it is likely to be difficult to request evidence that an employee has suffered domestic abuse, in contrast to the requirement to self-certify or provide medical evidence for periods of sick leave.
In this context, there should be no requirement for the employee to provide documentation of an arrest, conviction or other law enforcement documentation for such domestic violence. Proof may be provided through a police report, related medical certificates, or a document written on the letterhead of a court or by the provider or public agency to which the employee attended to acquire assistance as it relates to the abusive behaviour against the employee or the employee’s family member.
If we ever introduce domestic violence leave, organisations will need to review several considerations regarding how the scheme will apply in practice. For example, the amount of time off for safe leave will need to be determined. Although 10 days are generally seen as a benchmark, organisations may wish to provide more or less days of leave while deciding whether this applies during employment or is a set number of days of leave in each year. Similarly, although most are providing paid leave, there is currently no legal requirement for an employer to pay for this leave, so it may choose to pay full pay, a certain level of pay, pay for a specific number of days or provide unpaid leave.
Implementing a policy on domestic violence leave is a straightforward method of communicating and managing this type of leave. A key part of the policy will be outlining what the organisation believes is considered domestic abuse or violence and, therefore, in what circumstances the right to take leave can be exercised. Generally, a non-exhaustive list of circumstances will be appropriate, with management discretion to be exercised where an incident falls outside of this list. The policy can also address other matters, such as the method for notifying line managers of time off work for this matter, the confidentiality provisions that will apply to leave and any processes for returning the employee to work after the leave.
Being extremely sensitive, it would be imperative to ensure this subject is handled appropriately. For example, it would be key that managers do not believe the leave is only open to female employees, as all employees may be victims of domestic violence. Other areas that will need to be addressed include confidentiality, recording leave, and payroll matters. All people managers would, as a starting point, have to receive training on how to undertake difficult conversations to recognise the importance of communicating sensitively and appropriately in circumstances such as these.
If done correctly, statutory paid domestic violence leave will provide a vital tool for those subjected to abuse to access safety and maintain economic independence. For effective economic independence, the rate of pay should be the normal rate of pay, not a partial one.
The government should consider including paid domestic violence leave under the general work-life balance and related legislation, thus further enhancing the current range of measures to improve family-friendly work practices and support women in the workforce.