Impact of Domestic Abuse on Women's Employment

This article summarises the findings of a GMPERAS study into how domestic violence impacts on women’s employment.

Published in Bottomline Autumn 2006

Domestic violence is a prevalent crime. One in four women will experience domestic violence at some point in their lives (1). In 2002/03, domestic violence accounted for 18% of violent incidents. British Crime Surveys have revealed that there was an estimated 12.9 million incidents of domestic violence acts against women in England and Wales in the year preceding the interview (2). In 2001/02, there were 116 women killed by partners or former partners. This is equal to about two women per week (3).

Many workplaces employ someone who has experienced domestic violence directly or indirectly. A TUC survey has shown that 54% of trade union women had experienced, or knew colleagues who had experienced domestic violence (4). Domestic violence also impacts on companies in which women work. It is estimated that the impact of domestic violence costs approximately £3billion per year for UK employers due to lost economic output. The causes of this stem from decreased productivity, absenteeism, errors and increased employee turnover. Domestic violence also affects co-workers. They may feel under pressure to cover for absent or non-productive workers which may cause resentment. They may be unsure how they can provide support and they may fear for their own safety (5).

Currently there is no legal obligation on employers to take action if they are made aware that a member of their workforce is experiencing domestic violence. However, reference to individual pieces of legislation may be useful in some instances.

Domestic Abuse Policies

Some trade unions and employers have developed policies aimed at supporting women who have problems in the workplace as a consequence of domestic abuse. Model policies include measures such as ensuring confidentiality, special leave provisions, developing security measures, and reference to use of language in relation to domestic abuse within the workplace. Unions have also played a role in ensuring that women have access to other support agencies through referral services. Whilst these policies have provided benefits to women, they tend to cover workplaces that have union agreements, and are mainly found in the public sector. With less than a third of female workers in a trade union, (6) the majority of female workers do not have a trade union to negotiate for them or represent them in the workplace. 

In 2002, GMPERAS dealt with its first known case of a woman experiencing a problem at work as a consequence of domestic violence. Since then, it has developed a closer working relationship with the Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline and promoted its employment rights advice service to women’s refuges across Greater Manchester. GMPERAS has since then dealt with a variety of other cases. In all of these cases, women required a comprehensive approach. Specifically, they required a service that understood issues around domestic abuse, the need to protect safety and confidentiality.

Whilst GMPERAS has undertaken some individual casework, it is aware that women often require more support than can normally be provided by a mainstream advice service. In order to assess whether other support services felt that there was a need for a specialist employment rights advice service, GMPERAS decided to conduct a survey in the form of a questionnaire. Questionnaires were sent out to 18 women’s refuges/women’s hostels, 11 Greater Manchester Police Domestic Violence Units (DVU), and one local authority homelessness Unit. A total of 15 surveys were returned, giving a return rate of 50%.

Findings of the Survey

From the responses to our survey, the majority (80%) of agencies reported that they were aware of situations where women who they had come into contact with had experienced problems at work as a consequence of domestic violence.  Absenteeism, performance at work problems, losing jobs and difficulties returning back into employment were identified as the most significant problems.

Absenteeism

Support agencies (38%) reported that in their experience absenteeism from work and the consequences of this was the biggest problem that women faced. Reasons for absenteeism from work was due to ill health associated with domestic violence, time off work to deal with physical injuries and emotional distress, and to attend meetings with solicitors or courts. Not going to work in order to avoid the perpetrator was also given as a reason for absenteeism. Many women are forced to leave their employment because of absenteeism. Over one third (38%) of agencies reported that women resigned from their jobs because they could no longer deal with the problems.

Performance at work problems

Poor performance at work issues was also recognised and reported by 19% of agencies. Examples given included, poor timekeeping, lack of concentration and impaired judgement. Agencies reported that in many cases women use alcohol and drugs to cope with the problem. 

Leaving or losing a job

In many cases women were forced to leave their employment. The majority of agencies (80%) reported that they had encountered situations were women had left their jobs because of domestic abuse. An overwhelming majority of those agencies (80%) stated that in their experience women had left their employment to escape the perpetrator. Resignations caused through absences due to domestic abuse related depression was reported by 20% of agencies. One agency reported that a woman had been dismissed because the employer did not want to deal with the risk of having the perpetrator on their premises. This indicates that women who leave a perpetrator find it extremely difficult to remain in the same job or workplace. As one agency said, ‘women are often intimidated at work and threatened by partners, and as such leave because they are not aware of how they can deal with the issue’.

Women returning to employment

Many agencies (67%) were aware that women who had experienced domestic abuse found difficulties in returning to paid employment. Of those agencies, a number of them gave various reasons why women find difficulty in returning to employment including lack of confidence stemming from the abuse, anxiety about being located by a perpetrator through employment, and anxiety about disclosing the reasons for gaps in employment history.

Women in employment and access to refuges

The cost of refuge accommodation is relatively higher in comparison with other forms of rent. This is because the charge contains for support services for women and their children. The overwhelming majority of women who are housed by women’s refuges are not in paid employment and are in receipt of housing benefit which covers the cost of their accommodation. Women workers, especially those in low paid jobs find great difficulty in meeting the refuge accommodation charges. Often women have no option but to give up their jobs in order to become eligible for housing benefit in order to pay for refuge accommodation.

Women’s Refuges were concerned about the difficult choices women have to make in order to find ways to pay the refuge accommodation and care costs. Refuges recognise that giving up work may be a solution to obtain refuge accommodation but that many women would prefer to remain in work. From the responses of the refuges that took part in this survey, it is estimated that at least 93 women per year in paid employment do not enter into refuges because they cannot afford it and neither do they want to give up their jobs to become eligible for housing benefit.

Employment rights advice services 

None of the agencies surveyed provided employment rights advice to women. All of the agencies were aware of places where they could obtain advice but the overwhelming majority (93%) felt that there was a need for a dedicated employment rights advocacy service for women experiencing domestic abuse. One agency believed that a specific service would enable women to, ‘get the advice they needed and feel understood and safe’.

Conclusions

The report highlights that women experience many problems as a consequence of domestic violence. This includes, ill health, low self-esteem, poor performance at work, higher risk of on the job violence, higher levels of absenteeism, timekeeping problems and anxiety about the behaviour of the perpetrator in relation to their safety. This may make women more susceptible to being disciplined, and may also effect their job security and advancement in their jobs and careers. Also as the findings show that the long term effects of abuse threaten a woman’s ability to return to the labour market.

The potential for a woman to seek support at work is determined by how they believe their problem will be received by their employer and colleagues. Lack of support and isolation in the workplace makes it difficult for women to assert their employment rights, deal with problems, negotiate with their employer and protect their jobs. Some employers may be supportive but the absence of domestic violence policies often means that women do not know where to turn to for support. In many cases women believe that they have no option but to leave their employment.

The quality of support that women receive is likely to have a significant influence on their decision making. Helping women stay in employment when they are being abused is crucial so that they maintain financial independence, and are thus in a better position to make choices for themselves and their children.

GMPERAS has drawn up an action list in order to look at how more support and advice could be provided to women. This includes: looking at ways of providing women with specialist support services in the workplace, promoting good practice amongst employers and encouraging them to adopt workplace policies, campaigning for a change to the law which would address the access to refuge problem that women in employment experience.

A fuller report of the findings of this study is available on request. Please contact Allison Foreman if you have any enquiries about problems at work as a consequence of domestic violence on 0161 839 3882.

For confidential advice and support contact the Greater Manchester Domestic Violence Helpline on 0161 636 7525.

References

1. Council of Europe (2002). 
2. Walby, Sylvia and Johnathan Allen (2004). 
3. Flood-Page, Claire and Joanna Taylor (eds) (2003)
4. TUC (2002) Domestic Violence: a Guide for the Workplace
5. Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence (2005).
6. ONS March 2006