9th December: Domestic Abuse in the Workplace
For Barking and Dagenham, more than a third of our staff also live in the borough. If we accept domestic abuse is a problem for our residents then it stands to reason that it can also impact our staff. 75% of women who experience domestic abuse are targeted at work from harassing phone calls and abusive partners arriving at the office unannounced, to physical assaults. In the context of homeworking and COVID 19, work may not offer the lifeline that it once did as people are trapped at home with their abusers.
Over the last 18 months we have undertaken considerable efforts to raise awareness of domestic abuse internally, refreshing our policies, providing mandatory managers training and ensuring access to specialist and non-specialist support. We are developing a small army of Domestic Abuse Ambassadors – workplace points of contact who volunteer their time to be part of the work to address domestic abuse across our systems.
The work has been recognised through us becoming one of the first five organisations in the country to be awarded an Everyone’s Business Award (January 2020) in recognition of the best practice work we are undertaking in this space. In addition, in September 2020, we won the prestigious Best Organisational Development Initiative Award at the PPMA Excellence in People Management Awards 2020, which contributed to the borough being awarded a Silver Award overall.
This is something we take seriously and if you have a business in the borough and are interested in developing your own domestic abuse policy, we are happy to share our learning and support networks. The workplace can genuinely be a place of safety and support for people experiencing domestic abuse.
Does your workplace have a domestic abuse policy for employees? Let us know in the comment box below.
Support and Resource Links:
Domestic and Sexual Violence Services
PPMA Excellence in People’s Management Awards 2020
Domestic Abuse Toolkit for Employers