Council to give paid leave to staff suffering DA
Employees of Renfrewshire Council in Scotland can now request paid leave to receive support and attend relevant appointments should they be victims of domestic abuse.
The council says the new right demonstrates its commitment to a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of abuse, psychological and physical.
In the run up to implementing the policy, Renfrewshire Council worked with domestic abuse charity SafeLives whose director of external relations Liz Thompson was quoted in local media as saying: “Domestic abuse is everybody’s business and this includes employers. We know that more than two million adults experience domestic abuse each year. It is something that will impact upon almost every workplace.”
In February 2019 South Ayrshire Council in Scotland became the first local authority in Europe to give employees suffering from domestic abuse paid leave, of up to ten days.
Among UK authorities which followed suit were the Welsh Government and Neath Port Talbot Council. Now Jane Hutt, who is responsible for domestic abuse policy in the Welsh Government, has urged other councils in Wales to follow their lead.
