New law, to make provision for victims of domestic violence,
comes into force on 1 April 2019.
As set out in our
earlier article, those affected by domestic violence will be
entitled to:
- 10 days domestic violence leave per year;
- Ask for short-term flexible working options; and
- Not be discriminated against due to being affected by domestic violence.
Therefore, employers need to be aware of employees'
entitlements under the new legislation and foster a workplace
culture which encourages employees to feel comfortable raising
these sensitive issues if necessary.
We recommend that workplaces put in place policies about these
issues, so employees know about the processes for this new
entitlement and that employers identify a person within the
organisation with whom employees can confidentially raise these
issues. There will be a number of processes that need to be
set up so that the situation is not made worse for the employee,
and a different approach to the norm will be needed. For
example, the naming of the leave could be an issue, particularly
where there are issues of control involved and it appears on a pay
slip.
Employers will need to consider how they require 'proof'
and how that might impact on the situation that the employee is
faced with.
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Related articles
- Employment law calendar 2019
- New domestic violence law – how will this affect employment relationships?
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.