The tragic story of a manager who tried and failed to save his employee from domestic abuse has stayed with Elizabeth Filkin. “He did his best, but he didn’t know what else to do,” she says.
Filkin, the director of Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse, a business network that raises awareness of the crime, says the manager offered support to his employee after becoming concerned that she was being abused. He said he would go to the police with her, but she said she had a plan in place and was fine.
A few days later the woman’s partner killed her after he discovered she was planning to leave. “It was devastating for that manager, and all of the employees,” says Filkin, whose network has enlisted more than 60 firms since lockdown began
The shift to more flexible home working has been hailed by some as a game-changer for working parents, and cited as one of the few potential positives for women from the coronavirus crisis. But as more companies consider making working from home a permanent goal, campaigners and politicians including the former prime minister Theresa May are warning that home is not a safe space for every worker.
Faced with having to keep staff safe while overhauling work practices, a growing number of firms are offering more support including paid leave and emergency accommodation, while also training public-facing staff to spot the signs of domestic abuse and offer help to those in distress.
Filkin cites another manager who feared for an employee, and instead of contacting her in ways that could have been intercepted he told her that her presence was required in the office for one day, and that she would need to bring her passport so her records could be updated. “That allowed her to come into the office, and he pointed her to a specialist service where she got help. He might well have saved her life.”
Each year 2 million people in the UK are affected by domestic abuse, and during the lockdown there was a sharp increase in incidents as victims were trapped at home with perpetrators.
For more and more firms the penny is dropping that they need to act, says Suzanne Jacob, the chief executive of SafeLives, who provides training to help managers and other employees recognise telltale signs of domestic abuse and offer support.
“During lockdown we have seen an increase in major firms stepping up and investing in domestic abuse awareness training and resources,” she says. “It’s hugely encouraging because domestic abuse is not a private matter, it is a crime that is enormously damaging, so employers have a duty of care to take it seriously.”
Larger firms are implementing a range of measures to protect staff. The law firm Linklaters, for example, worked with Safe Lives to create a new policy and support package and now provides emergency accommodation and up to 10 days’ paid leave. It has also partnered with the charity Surviving Economic Abuse.
“We want to send a clear message to any of our people living with abuse that they are not alone, we care, and the help they need is available to them,” says David Martin, a global diversity and inclusion partner at the firm.
The housing association Stonewater has been awarded Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance accreditation after improving specialised schemes to support people fleeing domestic abuse, after increased demand during lockdown. Aviva is training staff to help clients who might be victims of domestic abuse, and has introduced a package of measures to help staff.
“We’re helping our frontline colleagues to know what to do if they take a distressing customer call or have concerns that something isn’t quite right,” says Danielle Harmer, Aviva’s chief people officer. “Domestic abuse comes in many forms, and as an insurer it’s crucial that we spot the warning signs whether the abuse is physical, psychological or financial.”
Victims can also find sanctuary in shops, after the UK Says No More campaign set up a network of safe spaces during the lockdown, including in Boots, Superdrug and Morrisons pharmacies. They simply need to ask to use the consultation room and are then provided with specialist domestic abuse support services and national helplines.
But according to Nicole Jacobs, the domestic violence commissioner for England and Wales, still more companies need to urgently tackle the issue, and the government should be forcing them to do so. She argues that the UK should learn from New Zealand, where employers are required by law to provide 10 days of paid leave to survivors of domestic abuse.
“Some employers have started to offer this on a voluntary basis, and I call on the government to place a legal duty on employers in this country to provide this kind of support,” she says. “A workplace can become a lifeline for survivors and a place of respite and safety, but equally, employers who fail to understand the dynamics of domestic abuse can add to the anguish faced by those subjected to it.”