Workshop: Dealing with Issues Around Domestic Violence in the Workplace

Workshop: Dealing with Issues Around Domestic Violence in the Workplace

How do you deal with this issue in your workplace?

Domestic and family violence is not just a private or personal issue. When an employee is living with domestic and family violence, there are often very real costs and negative impacts that flow to the workplace.  But how do you recognise and assist an employee in this situation?

Apart from the obvious wellbeing issues, there are plenty of economic arguments for employers to be active in this space.  In Australia, intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in women aged 15 to 44 years. It is responsible for more of the disease burden in women than many other well-known risk factors, such as smoking and obesity. The cost of intimate partner violence to the Australian economy was estimated at $8.1 billion with significant amounts being borne by employers through leave and production-related losses.

Within the population of women who have experienced violence, or are currently experiencing violence, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that between 55% and 70% are currently in the workforce – that is, approximately 800,000 women, or around one in six female workers. This means that a significant number of Australian workplaces will be impacted by women’s experiences of domestic and family violence.

Some common costs and impacts include:

• Decreased staff performance and productivity
• Increased staff turnover and absenteeism
• Negative impact on the organisation’s reputation and image.

Research into the workplace implications of domestic and family violence has demonstrated how such violence can undermine the working lives of both victims and survivors.

Speakers

Our panel of speakers will look at this issue from all sides and interaction and discussion is encouraged to help participants to develop workplace practices that will make a difference.

Roger Yeo is the father of Rachel.  Roger lost his daughter after her ex-partner stabbed her at her North Curl Curl unit on July 16, 2012. Roger is also an advocate for White Ribbon.  He will share his observations and experiences on what employers can do to assist  employees experiencing domestic violence, drawing on his daughter's own experiences.

To complement Roger's story, our panel will also provide legal and union perspectives of how employers can respond when a staff member is experiencing family or domestic violence. There are a myriad of individual circumstances and needs, which demand employer responses that are more sophisticated than simply leave or access to counselling. Be part of this important discussion of what the issues are and how to address them.

Who should attend?

The event will be of value to Industrial Practitioners, HR Managers, Managers, Supervisors, Union Officials, Academics, Students and Industrial Lawyers who wish to be ahead of the curve.