Safeguarding Employees Experiencing Domestic Abuse

• Physical Health
• Mental Health
• Health and Wellbeing

We need to recognise that domestic abuse is a common workplace issue and enable a supportive culture that will respond appropriately to disclosure. Safeguarding employees experiencing domestic abuse is key to providing a safe and effective working environment.

As employers, we all have a duty of care and a legal responsibility to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our employees, wherever they are working. 

The Lloyds Banking Group plc holistic wellbeing strategy

Tackling domestic and economic abuse sits at the heart of Lloyds Banking Group Plc holistic wellbeing strategy, and it recognises that it has an important role to play in this.

Charlie Godolphin, Lloyds Banking Group’s Domestic Abuse Lead, speaks more about the active role that Lloyds Banking Group are playing, and those other organisations should play, in tackling domestic abuse. 

This video is part of a series featuring members of the BITC Wellbeing Leadership Team, produced in partnership with Bupa to support organisations to #BuildBackResponsibly.

The Business in the Community (BITC) Domestic Abuse Toolkit

The BITC Domestic Abuse Toolkit, produced in partnership with Public Health England, can help your organisation support employees and contribute to tackling domestic abuse. The toolkit has been updated for June 2021. Supported by the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA), it now includes information on the recently passed Domestic Abuse Act, new resources, initiatives and case studies.

The toolkit offers guidance on measures to implement to respond appropriately when an employee discloses abuse. The toolkit highlights potentially useful free resources for you and your team. It also signposts to external organisations that offer advice and support to employers and employees.

The original version was co-produced by Public Health England (PHE) and Business in the Community (BITC) and sponsored by the Insurance Charities in 2018.

The toolkit has been informed by an evidence review produced by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) into workplace support for victims of domestic abuse.

What if your job was good for you?

People do not expect to be physically injured at work, and nor should their mental health be damaged. However, in the 12 months before BITC’s Mental Health at Work 2020 survey, developed in partnership with Bupa and the BITC Wellbeing Leadership Team, 41% of employees experienced poor mental health caused by work¹. Although work can be part of the cause of poor mental health, it can also be part of the solution to improving it. COVID-19 has acted as a powerful catalyst to transform the working world. For example, employees who never dreamed of working remotely and flexibly are now doing so.

BITC’s What If Your Job Was Good For You? report identifies actions employers can take to transform wellbeing at work. It contains two calls to action for employers that build on lessons learnt from the pandemic.

1. Treat mental health and safety with the same importance as physical health and safety.
2. Collaborate with colleagues to enable employees to create their own ‘good jobs’ within organisational parameters.

The What If Your Job Was Good for You? report was delivered in partnership with the Business in the Community Wellbeing Leadership Team and Affinity Health at Work, and supported by CIPD. 

Next steps

• Download the What If Your Job Was Good For You? report.
• Read and watch more What If Your Job Was Good For You? case studies.
• Learn more about BITC’s work on health and wellbeing.

What if everyone felt included at work?

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