Domestic Violence Entitlements:

Safe at Home and at Work

Tashina Orchiston

Project Officer

t.orchiston@unsw.edu.au

 1.Domestic violence: a labour market

issue?

2.Agenda for change: enterprise level and national workplace policy reform

3.Challenges and strategies

4.Progress to date and the next phase

1. Context

Domestic violence is a workplace issue...

• 2/3 Australian women who report violence by a current partner are in paid employment (ABS 2005, Personal Safety Survey)

• 10% of employees in large US study reported some violence from a partner within the past 12 months (A O’Leary-Kelly, C Reeves & E Lean 2008, Coming into the light: intimate partner violence and its effects at work)

• Most common form of DV experienced at work: abusive calls, emails (ABS 2005)

– Occasionally workplace death, serious injury

Domestic violence is a workplace issue...

• Impacts: work performance, morale, productivity• Increased absenteeism? (CA Reeves, C Bates & A O’Leary-Kelly

2006 cf. JE Swanberg & TK Logan 2005)

• Between ¼ and ½ of women with history of DV report losing a job, at least in part, due to DV (US Govt 1998)

• Poverty trap: more likely to have disrupted work history, be in casual or part time work than women with no experience of DV (S Franzway, C Zufferey & D Chung 2007)

• Affects children: parental job loss = relocation, changing schools

Conclusion

• Being in employment is a key pathway to leaving a violent relationship

• Financial security = – Maintain home and standard of living – Avoid becoming trapped, financially

dependent on abusive partner

2. Reform

Workplace Rights & Entitlements Project

• Partnerships

• Entitlements

• Safety plans

• Training

Changes to labour laws?

• Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) – Paid leave – Right to request flexible working arrangements

• Protection from discrimination– State and federal level, underpin Fair Work Act

protections

• National OHS harmonisation (2012) – Guidance material to recognise DV

3. Challenges

Barriers to acting...

• A personal matter

• Too big, too hard

• Resentment towards underperforming worker

• Both partners in same workplace

4. Progress

Achievements so far

• Public sector– 18 NSW state industrial awards now contain DV

clauses• Private sector

– TransGrid enterprise agreement• Adopted by ACTU Women’s Committee, National Labor

Women’s Conference• International interest:

– ILO, ITUC, Canada, US, New Zealand...

The next chapter

• Funding proposal for 2012: monitoring, evaluation and empirical research

• Supporting organisations introducing the clauses with a particular focus on small business