“This transformative legislation will make Ireland one of the first countries in the EU to provide this leave. It will further protect and promote women’s participation in the workplace”
- Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Children Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Introduction
The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 (the “Bill”) is expected to be enacted within the coming weeks. One of the main changes that the Bill will bring about is the amendment of the Parental Leave Act 1998 to provide, for the first time, for paid domestic violence leave.
The leave is intended to prevent a victim of domestic violence from losing employment, which would put them at an increased risk of falling into poverty. Research shows that persons experiencing domestic violence have increased employment instability, increased absenteeism and difficulties with productivity. Unfortunately, domestic abuse and poverty go hand-in-hand. This is because those experiencing domestic violence often bear the significant extra costs associated with healthcare, housing, shelter and legal processes as a direct result of the abuse suffered.
Currently, employees who experience domestic violence have to take sick leave, annual leave or unpaid leave should they need any time away from work to seek help or treatment. Once enacted, the Bill will entitle anyone suffering from or at risk of domestic violence to five days of paid domestic violence leave per year.
How is domestic violence defined in the Bill?
Domestic violence within the Bill includes violence, or a threat of violence, including sexual violence and acts of coercive control. It is violence that is committed against an employee or a “relevant person” by the employee or relevant person’s own spouse or civil partner, cohabitant, adult child (if not dependent on the Employee or Relevant Person), or person who they are or were in an intimate relationship with.
Who is a relevant person?
As can be seen above, the definition of domestic violence extends to cover domestic violence committed against a “relevant person”. A relevant person is a close connection of the employee which is defined in the Bill as an employees’ spouse or civil partner, their cohabitant, a person with whom they are in an intimate relationship, their child (if underage), or a person who is dependent on them (“Relevant Person”). As demonstrated further below, inclusion of “Relevant Person” within this Bill recognises that employees might need to avail of leave to assist a close connection to seek help or medical assistance.
What is the purpose of the Leave?
The purpose of the leave is to provide an opportunity for an employee who is experiencing or has experienced domestic violence to seek help. In particular, it enables them to seek medical assistance, counselling or psychological assistance, obtain services from a victim services organisation, relocate, seek legal assistance, seek assistance from the Gardaí or to obtain an order from the Courts (such as a safety order or barring order). Employees will also be able to take domestic violence leave to assist a Relevant Person to do any of the above if the Relevant Person is experiencing domestic violence or has experienced domestic violence in the past.
What are the length of service and notice requirements in order for domestic violence leave to be taken?
Once the Bill is enacted, any employee will be entitled to domestic violence leave if they have experienced domestic violence or are assisting a Relevant Person as outlined above. This applies whether they are a full-time or part-time employee and there is no minimum length of service required before the leave can be availed of.
Employees do not have to provide their employer with notice prior to availing of the leave. They must however, notify the employer as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter, confirming that they have taken domestic violence leave and specifying the dates on which the leave was taken. Employees do not need to provide proof of domestic violence and an employer will not be allowed to penalise an employee from exercising their right to take domestic violence leave.
Payment during Domestic Violence Leave
Under the Bill, an employer must pay an employee a prescribed daily rate of pay. The Minister has reserved the right under the Bill to prescribe this rate which may be capped at a maximum daily amount.
How many days of Domestic Violence leave will be granted under the Bill per year?
The number of days granted under the Bill as currently drafted, is five days which can be taken either together or as individual days throughout a twelve month period. It is worth briefly noting, that many TDs and stakeholders who were consulted during the drafting of the Bill, did not think five days would be enough time for employees to seek necessary supports, especially in rural settings. Based on the approach taken in other jurisdictions, notably New Zealand, they suggested that ten days paid domestic violence leave should be the amount granted under the Bill. While this increase is widely perceived to be unlikely at this stage, the Bill does contain a review clause and the legislation, including the number of days of domestic violence leave, will be reviewed in two years. It is also important to note that employers can also have their own domestic leave policies and can provide higher levels of domestic violence leave than is prescribed in the Bill.
Supports for Employers
The Government has also promised to put supports in place for employers in order to assist them in developing domestic violence workplace policies and to support employees experiencing domestic violence. Although we do not have much detail yet about what these supports will consist of, in the Dáil debates, the Minister for Children Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said that there will be “template policies for employers in terms of how they implement this legislation, as well as how they respond to the needs of employees who are victims of domestic violence.
Conclusion
It is anticipated that the introduction of the five days paid domestic violence leave will introduce a base-layer of protection for employees who need to avail of domestic violence leave. There is hope that the statutory entitlement will be further supplemented by employer workplace policies that offer the necessary supports and, potentially, even protection that goes beyond the Bill. For example, employers could provide more than five days of leave for domestic violence victims or even grant full pay for days taken by employees availing of the leave. Legislating for paid leave for victims of domestic violence, as provided for in the Bill, is undoubtedly a concrete step of recognition by the government of the hardships people battling with difficult and violent home lives face and the significant consequences such violence can have on their professional and personal lives.