A recent CIPD/Industrial Relations News survey has found just 60 per cent of employers have a policy for granting leave in relation to domestic abuse/violence, despite it being a legal requirement since 27th November 2023. This legislation provides for victims of domestic abuse/violence or those family members or friends who might provide support to them, to take up to five days’ leave in a 12-month period.
The entitlement to domestic violence leave comes from the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.
Domestic violence is defined under the Act as violence or threat of violence, including sexual violence and acts of coercive control committed against an employee or a relevant person in relation to an employee.
Employees do not need to be working in their job for a certain amount of time to qualify for this leave. And they do not have to give their employer notice to take the leave in emergency circumstances. However, they should give notice if they are able to.
An employee is not required to give their employer any supporting information or evidence when requesting domestic violence leave. There might be exceptional situations where an employer could ask for supporting documents, but this would be rare and is not in line with the intentions of the legislation.
As an employer you may assign a specific or designated person to handle matters related to domestic violence leave and other available support. The designated person could be a HR Manager or the business owner. It’s important that the designated person is well-trained to handle employee disclosures properly.
All employees who have experienced or are currently experiencing abuse are entitled to domestic violence leave. Employees who are supporting a ‘relevant person’ are also eligible for domestic violence leave. Who a relevant person is defined within the legislation.
An employee has the right to 5 days of domestic violence leave in any consecutive 12 months. This is the statutory entitlement (that means the legal minimum). An employer can take a decision to pay an employee more than the statutory entitlement, or they may decide to provide additional paid or unpaid special leave.
Part-time employees are entitled to domestic violence leave on a pro-rata basis. This means, for example, if an employee work 50% of a normal working week, they are entitled to 2.5 days’ leave.
The leave does not need to be taken all at once. It can be taken as single or multiple days. An absence for part of a day is counted as one day.
Domestic violence leave is paid by an employer at the employee’s normal daily rate of pay. An employer should not make any reference to domestic violence leave on an employee’s payslip.
Records of Domestic Violence Leave must be kept for a period of three years.
If you are worried about someone you know, you can call the Women’s Aid 24 hour National Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900.
Further information and support for employers can be found on https://dvatwork.ie/
As always, if you require any support with HR or Employment Law you can contact the ISME HR Team on 01 6622755 Option 2 or via HR@ISME.ie. Members also have access to the ISME HR Hub which provides further guidance on this topic.
