Yahoo Finance ‘He came to her workplace’: New push for life-saving workplace leave
Samantha Parker has been a domestic violence worker for seven years, and she still remembers how a woman lost her job after her abusive ex-partner showed up at her workplace.
The woman had an Apprehended Violence Order against the man preventing him from coming to her workplace – but that didn’t stop him.
“The next day, her employer rang her and said that she had lost her job because her personal life was interfering,” Parker told Yahoo Finance.
“This was someone who had worked for the company for over 20 years and had won an award for being one of the top salespersons in the states and she lost her job.
“It’s appalling.”
This is just one of many stories Parker has about her time as a domestic violence worker.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates one in six Australian women have experienced partner violence, while women who are unemployed are more than twice as likely to have experienced partner violence than their employed counterparts.
A quarter of women in violent relationships said their main barrier to leaving was a lack of money or financial support.
But at the same time, even women who have paid employment struggle to leave.
As Parker explained, leaving a violent relationship comes with a lot of admin; the ability to take time away from work to attend court, move homes, seek refuge and seek care without losing their income or job can literally be the difference between life and death.
Nearly a third of women who experienced violence in their most recent relationship took time off work as a result of the violence.
Labor on Monday introduced a bill granting workers 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave, with social services minister Linda Burney saying “no one should have to choose between their livelihoods and their safety”.
Under the bill, part- and full-time employees would receive their regular rate of pay while casuals would receive pay for the period they were rostered on. Casual and part-time workers would accrue the leave pro-rata.
As it stands, some public sector workers including those in NSW and Victoria have access to paid domestic violence leave, but private sector employees are not covered under the Fair Work Act.
Currently, most workers have access to five days unpaid leave.
"It just astounds me more attention is not paid to this national crisis – a crisis that saw four women last week alone die at the hands of their ex-partner or partner," Burney said on Monday.
One woman is murdered by a current or former partner a week in Australia, and there are concerns the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis.
A July survey from the Australian Institute of Criminology found 10 per cent of women in a relationship had experienced domestic violence during the pandemic and two-thirds said attacks started or worsened during the period. Of those who had previously experienced violence, 50 per cent said it had become worse or more frequent.
The Australian Services Union (ASU) is leading the calls to introduce the leave into the National Employment Standards, and it has the support of NSW’s Liberal Attorney General Mark Speakman.
The ASU believes that resources for employers on responding to domestic violence in home-based workplaces is also essential as workers transition to remote work patterns.
“Enshrining domestic violence leave in law would clearly say: applying for time off to take the steps necessary to escape abuse is entirely legitimate and it is endorsed by society,” ASU NSW and ACT secretary Natalie Lang said.
“Employers are benefiting from being able to transform people's homes into a workspace. They need to accept the responsibilities that come with that.”
She said it was time for business lobby groups to make practical progress towards ending domestic violence, rather than simply raising awareness.
Parker agreed, noting that the leave exists in New Zealand and Canada and “the sky doesn’t fall in when you get it”.
Instead, it allows people in violent relationships to safely leave.
“It saves lives.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by family and domestic violence, contact 1800 RESPECT.
