Workplaces must be ‘counterweight’ to minimisation of DV

With Pauline Hanson’s comments about domestic violence dominating headlines, HR professionals are reminding employers of the importance of supporting workers through one of the highest-risk periods of their lives.

Hanson’s comments

Speaking earlier this week on Brisbane radio, One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson said that domestic violence is “wrong, but it’s also a two-way street”, arguing that women “can lose their cool as well”.

“Society is under so much pressure…I think today everyone’s sitting on a time bomb, because the pressures of cost of living and people having to be able to pay the bills, tension that’s going on, or if you lose your job or the kids, what’s happening with the children these days, everyone is under so much pressure, and it’s really hard,” she told 4BC.

The senator went on to say that women being abused should simply leave their relationships: “Domestic violence is a scourge, but sometimes, look, I’m not going to go in detail, but I’ve been through it myself in my life, and I just feel that if you’re not in a house where you feel safe, you feel you don’t want to be there, then you shouldn’t put up with it.”

“It’s really hard. I don’t think we communicate enough with each other. We don’t explain our feelings, what’s happening at the moment. We bottle it all up,” she said.

The comments come amid renewed calls for a royal commission into family and domestic violence, after four women and girls were murdered in the space of four days earlier this month.

The employer’s role

Speaking to HR Leader, Probiotic Limited chief people officer Annalinde Nickisch said that when public discourse minimises domestic violence, or reduces it to ‘just leave’, the workplace must be a “steady, practical counterweight”.

“The 10 days of paid domestic violence leave now available to every Australian employee are a floor, not a ceiling,” she said.

“The support that matters most is quieter, often invisible from the outside. Because work may be the only place a victim is unwatched, it can mean bringing a counsellor in and offering a private room; providing a salary advance so someone has the means to leave; arranging a transfer to another site, away from the perpetrator.”

Moreover, Nickisch went on, training is imperative – not only for HR but for the managers, reception, and payroll staff “who field the call from an ex-partner just checking whether she’s in”, and whom she says “must know to never confirm it”.

“None of it makes the policy headline, but it can be the difference between safety and harm,” she said.

McCabes Lawyers chief people officer Rachael Britton agreed, noting that DV leave exists precisely because these situations don’t stay outside a person’s working life, and the risks of not providing enough support are serious. “This support includes confidential access to specialist services, along with leave and flexibility that provide the space to transition to a safe environment without the added pressure of feeling their job is at risk,” she said.

Employers and HR should ensure, Britton said, that managers know how to recognise the signs and treat these situations with urgency.

“Work is often one of the few stable points of contact someone has outside the home, and how well we respond can shape whether they feel safe enough to ask for help,” she said.

“Getting this right means listening to experts and to people with lived experience. A workplace that responds with genuine compassion can matter more than people realise for someone facing real danger.”

Nickisch also point out that, on Monday 27 July, Australia’s AusAlert national test will take place at 2:00 pm AEST (with adjusted times for other states). During this test, a loud 10-second siren and on-screen alert will be sent to all compatible mobile devices nationwide to test the country's emergency warning system.

Employers and their HR teams should be mindful, she said, that "anyone keeping a concealed phone could have it give them away the moment the test goes off".

Reminding staff members that, if they have a hidden device, they can switch it off or to turn it airplane mode beforehand. Doing so, Nickisch said, "might genuinely help someone".

DV leave ‘only one part of the solution’

Angela Harbinson, the chief executive and co-founder of The Separation Guide, said that public debate about family and domestic violence is essential, but employers’ focus must remain on supporting people through what she said is one of the “highest-risk periods of their lives”.

“Relationship breakdown is often the precursor to financial hardship, deteriorating mental health and, for some, family violence. By the time an employee requests domestic violence leave, they may already be in crisis,” she said.

“Over the past 6.5 years, we’ve analysed the behavioural patterns of more than 46,500 Australians navigating separation. One of the clearest insights is that people delay seeking help because they’re overwhelmed, fearful of cost or unsure where to turn.”

This is why, Harbinson said, domestic violence leave is “only one part of the solution”.

“Employers also have an opportunity to invest in earlier education, confidential triage and trusted navigation to specialist legal, financial and family violence services,” she said.

“Supporting employees before they reach crisis is not only the right thing to do, it’s one of the most effective ways to improve safety, wellbeing and workplace productivity.”

More broadly, MOND founder and people and organisation design strategist Netta Efron said employers need to appreciate that financial independence is freedom. It could, she said, be the difference between staying and leaving.

“For some in vulnerable positions, it’s also a community, a foothold. Often, a job is not just an income. A lot can be said about the changed expectations in the employer-employee relationship,” she said.

“However, supporting employees through hard times is just the right thing to do. Paid family and domestic violence leave isn’t a perk. It’s governments and employers agreeing to show up at exactly that moment.”

Policy on paper means nothing, Efron said, if it isn’t normalised.

“That’s where HR needs to deliver: not only in writing it into a handbook but in creating a culture where it’s possible to use it with as little friction or judgement as possible. That’s what showing up actually looks like.”

Leave entitlements have ‘literally saved lives’

Elsewhere, Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said that Senator Hanson’s comments were “reckless and dangerous”, adding that “access to paid family and domestic violence leave has literally saved lives”.

“Nobody wants to be in a position where they need to use this leave, but for those who have no choice, paid family and domestic violence leave is an essential lifeline,” she said.

“People who experience family and domestic violence are not on a holiday, far from it. The leave allows them to get to court, meet police, find emergency accommodation, and put safety arrangements in place for themselves and their children.”

“All the experts tell us that leaving a violent relationship is the most dangerous time in a person’s life," O’Neil went on. “Pauline Hanson needs to be reminded that on average, a woman is killed every nine days by a current or former partner in Australia.”

“Dealing with a violent relationship costs time and money and can tragically trap workers in dangerous situations. Access to paid family and domestic violence leave saves lives, and women have come forward and credited this leave as having been essential to surviving and getting back on their feet,” she said.

Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make HR Leader a preferred news source on Google.

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Momentum Media’s professional services suite, encompassing Lawyers Weekly, HR Leader, Accountants Daily, and Accounting Times. He has worked as a journalist and podcast host at Momentum Media since February 2018. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.