Domestic Abuse: a toolkit for employers - Guide For Employers

Domestic Abuse: a toolkit for employers

Support your employees by contributing to tackling domestic abuse.

Domestic Abuse: a toolkit for employers

Employers have a duty of care and a legal responsibility to provide a safe and effective work environment. Preventing and tackling domestic abuse is an integral part of this. This toolkit will help your organisation to support your employees and contribute to tackling domestic abuse.

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First created in 2018 by Public Health England (PHE) and Business in the Community (BITC), Domestic Abuse: a toolkit for employers was updated in June 2021 to include information on the Domestic Abuse Act, new resources, initiatives and case studies. The toolkit was informed by an evidence review by PHE, and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Home Office Workplace Support for Victims of Domestic Abuse report. The publication of Domestic Abuse: a toolkit for employers was supported by The Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse and sponsored by The Insurance Charities in 2018 and again in 2021.

Domestic abuse, employers and the COVID-19 pandemic

There are 2.3 million victims of domestic abuse each year1. Two thirds of whom are women, one third men, and two in ten offences recorded by the police are domestic abuse related. Two women each week and one man each month are killed in England and Wales by a current or former partner2. However these crimes are underreported, so the correct figures are likely to be be higher. Domestic abuse is a hugely destructive problem and we have a collective responsibility to tackle it.

Employers have a duty of care and a legal responsibility to provide a safe and effective work environment. Preventing and tackling domestic abuse is an integral part of this. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in new ways of working, with a significant increase in the numbers of people working from home. For those experiencing abuse, the workplace often offers a safe space and a respite away from their abuser. Colleagues and managers can often be the only other people outside the home that survivors talk to each day and are therefore uniquely placed to help spot signs of abuse.

This toolkit will help your organisation support your employees and contribute to tackling domestic abuse. It 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 four “R’s” approach

This framework is commonly used by employers to secure a clear response to domestic abuse. Download Domestic Abuse: a toolkit for employers for more information on this approach.

Recognise

Use the information in this toolkit to help recognise the problem, and to enable managers and employees to understand that domestic abuse is a workplace issue that everyone can play a part in tackling.

Respond

Implement policies and processes that enable a supportive workplace which will respond appropriately to disclosure.

Refer

Provide access to internal confidential support and signpost appropriately to external organisations who can help employees that disclose abuse.

Record

If an employee discloses abuse, it is important to record the details of what is said as accurately as possible Should the abuse become subject to criminal proceedings, this is an exhibit and should be given to the police.

References

1. Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2020), Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2020, 25 November 2020
2. Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2016), Intimate personal violence and partner abuse, 11 February 2016

Explore all eight BITC and Public Health England Health and Wellbeing Toolkits

Developed by Business in the Community in collaboration with Public Health England (PHE), this suite of eight toolkits, available below, helps employers take positive actions to build a culture that champions good mental and physical health for employees. The toolkits also provide a greater understanding of how to help those who need more support.

Explore below to access each toolkit, and explore the Health and Wellbeing at Work toolkit for a summary resource of all eight toolkits.

Crisis Management In The Event Of A Suicide: A Postvention Toolkit For Employers, developed with support from Samaritans, offers practical advice for employers to follow in the aftermath of an employee suicide.

Domestic Abuse Toolkit. This toolkit, sponsored by The Insurance Charities, provides support and guidance for employers in responding to the risk of domestic abuse.

Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco: A Toolkit For Employers. Supporting your employees wellbeing to reduce sickness, absence, and improve mental wellbeing and productivity.

Mental Health for Employers Toolkit. This toolkit helps employers select the most valuable resources, and  to develop an approach that works. For larger organisations, the toolkit is also a useful resource to share with businesses in their supply chain and across their network.

Good musculoskeletal (MSK) health is integral to a full working life. It supports us with functional mobility and dexterity, balance and coordination, and contributes to muscular strength and endurance; essential to nearly all forms of work. It also enables us to stay physically and mentally fit and reduce the occurrence of other health problems. Action should be taken at all ages to invest in enhancing education, awareness and opportunities to engage in understanding good MSK health and how to reduce the risks of developing an MSK problem.

We are currently in the processes of refreshing this resource to reflect shifting needs of UK employers and employees.

Reducing the risk of suicide. This toolkit provides support and advice on how to incorporate suicide prevention into an employer’s workplace health and wellbeing framework. It was developed with support from Samaritans.

Sleep and Recovery Toolkit. This toolkit sponsored by Anglian Water, offers insight and advice on addressing the increasingly damaging sleep-loss epidemic affecting the nation.