Confidentiality and a work environment that champions gender equity are essential to making employees who experience family violence feel they can ask for leave, according to businesses that offer domestic violence leave.
Employees taking the leave either tell her or apply through an online system. Rees says it operates on a trust basis and no victims are asked for evidence of their need. “If there is disrespect towards women, unequal pay between men and women, sexual harassment or unequal leadership opportunities in the workplace, then whether women in these workplaces will feel comfortable and able to take up the paid domestic violence leave will be a real issue,” she said.to add paid domestic violence leave to the national employment standards. The legislation would give some 8.5 million workers access to the leave.that would have given access to the leave to 2.
“This is a massive change. We need to get the settings right and we need it to apply to all women regardless of the situation, regardless of how long they have been at their workplace,” she said.