Domestic Violence Victims Protection Act: two years on
Thursday, April 1st 2021 marks two years since
the Domestic Violence - Victims Protection Act 2018 took effect.
On Monday, Shine’s
DVFREE & Policy Advisor, Holly Carrington, spoke to RNZ Nine to Noon host Kathryn
Ryan about the impact of this law, how well it’s being implemented by
employers and about the post-COVID trend for employees to work from home and
what it means for employees experiencing domestic violence.
This issue also featured in a NZ Herald article.
So how are New
Zealand employers doing with implementing this law?
As textbook examples, we have our DVFREE Tick partners who
have gone above and beyond legal requirements by following Shine’s advice to
provide the best possible support for impacted employees. Unfortunately, we
have also heard of employers who aren’t yet aware of their legal obligation to
provide paid domestic violence leave. We continue to hear from employers of all
sizes who have yet to include the availability of paid domestic violence leave
and flexible work arrangements in their policies and procedures.
What is the uptake of
domestic violence leave from employers who proactively offer this leave?
In an informal survey of six of our larger DVFREE Tick
partners (with a combined total of 18,800 employees), all reported less than
0.5% of their employees had asked for paid domestic violence leave in the two-year
period from April 2019 to March 2021. On average, employees who accessed this
leave used less than half of the available ten days per year. These employers
all agreed this leave can be
enormously beneficial for employee wellbeing, and amongst these employers,
there was only one instance of an employee suspected of taking the leave
without good reason.
These employers all offer this leave without requiring any proof of
domestic violence. They also ensure it is recorded either as something other
than ‘domestic violence’ or recorded completely separately from other forms of
leave and accessible only by a small number of HR staff. All have trained
First Responders who will proactively offer this leave to an employee seeking
support, and information about the leave is easily accessible to staff through
policy and/or procedures or information for staff on the workplace intranet.
The clear message
here for other employers is that you can (and should) proactively offer this
leave to your employees without requesting proof, and should not worry
about a rush of employees lying about domestic violence to access the leave.
The far bigger problem is that employees affected by domestic violence are not asking
for their leave entitlement because of concerns about privacy or an impact on
their employment and career opportunities.
How helpful has this
law been for employees impacted by domestic violence?
The law has helped many more employers understand domestic
violence is a workplace issue and that they have a legal obligation to provide support
for employees impacted by domestic violence. It is fantastic to have a baseline
requirement for 10 days per year of domestic violence paid leave and short term
flexible working.
However, the law could certainly be improved. It provides
only for short term flexible working of up to two months, which is wholly
inadequate, given domestic violence situations so rarely resolve in this period
of time. This potentially means an employee must seek a renewal of flexible
work arrangements every two months when those arrangements are needed longer
term or indefinitely.
The law allows employers to require proof of domestic
violence before granting paid leave or flexible working without defining what
constitutes proof. This sets up a significant barrier to employees accessing
this leave as they are already likely to not disclose or seek workplace support
because of a fear of not being believed or being judged.
Has the situation for
employees impacted by domestic violence changed in the wake of COVID?
More and more employers are allowing, encouraging or
requiring employees to work from home part or fulltime. No doubt this
flexibility is very helpful for many, and when there’s a choice, employees who
have concerns about working from home can elect to work from the office. This
may be because someone shares their household who is abusive or controlling, or
it may be that they are more vulnerable to abuse at home from a separated
partner who is stalking them.
The big concern for these employees is when they are expected
or required to work from home part or fulltime and are given no option to work from
a worksite.
The DVFREE Guidelines for employers are currently being
updated and will soon include a specific recommendation to offer a safer option
for employees expected to work from home, and ensuring they are aware of how to
access this option.
Are employers
discriminating against employees impacted by domestic violence, in violation of
the Human Rights Act?
The Domestic Violence - Victims Protection Act 2018 also
amended the Human Rights Act, making it illegal for an employer to treat
employees adversely because they are affected by domestic violence. Through our
Helpline, Shine continues to hear from people experiencing domestic violence
who believe they are being treated adversely by their employer.
The fear of being treated adversely by their employer may be enough to prevent an employee reaching out for help at all. Therefore it is imperative the tone and content of employers’ policies and procedures and information for staff, and the organisational culture clearly demonstrate that the organisation, and especially its senior leadership, places a priority on support for the wellbeing of its people.