policies & procedures
violence) and potential signs
■■ A statement of the kind of support
available in the workplace
■■ Identification of support people in the
workplace for employees to access if
they suspect domestic violence or are
victims of it themselves
■■ An outline of what will happen when
an employee turns to the support
program for help
An important component of any domestic
violence policy is confidentiality.
“I wouldn’t recommend guaranteeing
absolute confidentiality, but to the extent
possible – with information being shared
only to ensure safety,” said MacQuarrie.
“When you have obligations to protect
everybody in the workplace, some other
people are going to have to know to be
part of a plan.”
Boyer says managers and employees will
ultimately need to be well trained on detecting
the signs of domestic violence and
understand the workplace policy on handling
it.
“They are the ones who will likely first
detect or hear about signs of abuse and
should know where they can turn to address
this and better support a co-worker,”
he said.
While a workplace policy on domestic
violence should include access to
community resources, the employer may
also consider what can be done within the
organization to help protect and support
the employee.
These include:
■■ Leave policies or flexible work
arrangements for court or legal
appointments
■■ Accommodations such as:
• Telephone screening
• Changes to paycheque delivery
• Equipping security with a photograph
of the abuser
Manitoba recently introduced legislation
that provides paid leave to employees
experiencing domestic violence. They’re
following the lead of the government
of Australia, which has more than 860
individual collective agreements covering
2 million workers that gives employees access
to paid leave.
“Part of the cost associated with domestic
violence is driven by losses in
employment. Supportive practices like
paid leave for an employee to go to
court or seek counseling can indicate
to an employee that the organization
will support them and help them regain
their health and wellbeing,” said
Boyer. “In our previous experience in
other health-related areas, employees
who are connected to the workplace
through meaningful work are better
able to regain their health and wellbeing.
Helping a worker stay connected
and supported not only helps the health
of an employee, but may also help save
an organization’s bottom line by having
these employees avoid longer health-related
leaves of absence.”
IS THERE AN OBLIGATION TO
REPORT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
TO THE POLICE?
Under the Ontario legislation, the obligation
to report is for an attempt, threat
or incident of violence and there’s a similar
threshold across jurisdictions, says
MacQuarrie.
“Just because you’re aware that somebody
is experiencing domestic violence
doesn’t mean you have to report it,” she
said.
She emphasizes that employees should
be trained to report the suspicion of domestic
violence to a supervisor within the
workplace, not the police.
“Reporting is a scary word and tends to
have a very official interpretation,” she said.
“Sometimes, what’s needed is a consultation
about somebody who is experiencing
difficulties and how can we get together to
do some problem solving. Ultimately, what
you want to see coming out of these situations
is a safety plan.” n
“IN SOME PROVINCES, WHEN AN
EMPLOYER FINDS OUT THAT AN
EMPLOYEE IS EXPERIENCING
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THAT
WILL LIKELY PUT THEM IN
HARM’S WAY, THE EMPLOYER
HAS A DUTY TO PUT IN PLACE
REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS TO
PROTECT THE EMPLOYEE.”
– CHARLES BOYER, RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, WORKPLACE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS RESEARCH GROUP,
THE CONFERENCE BOARD OF CANADA
Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock.com
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MARCH/APRIL 2016 ❚ 33
