Employees Experiencing Domestic and Family Violence to Receive Special Leave

Employees of a leading aged care provider in Victoria are now entitled to special paid leave to seek help, if they are experiencing domestic or family violence at home.   

Under this new policy, employees of Southern Cross Care (Vic) are provided with a possible five days in any calendar year to seek safe accommodation, to attend medical appointments, counselling or legal proceedings, or to arrange alternative care or education arrangements for their children.

“Domestic and family violence is the leading preventable cause of death, disability and illness in women aged 15 to 44 years. This is a disgraceful statistic,” said Ms Jan Horsnell, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Cross Care (Vic). 

“With women making up 88 percent of our total workforce of 1300 people, it is the Organisation’s responsibility to provide support to employees who are experiencing violence at home. This is why we introduced an additional leave category across the Organisation,” said Ms Horsnell.

For staff requiring more than five days’ leave, further leave may be granted based on the circumstances of each situation. The new leave entitlements were officially announced by Ms Horsnell at a White Ribbon breakfast for staff on 30 March.

The new leave policy is one of the many initiatives by Southern Cross Care to contribute to the campaign to eradicate violence against women as the Organisation works towards becoming a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace. Other key initiatives include organising events to create greater awareness about domestic violence for staff and key external stakeholders; reviewing existing policies and procedures to support women; and training staff on how to pick up signs of domestic violence and respond accordingly when they suspect someone in their workplace is experiencing abuse.

Recently, the Organisation installed the Daisy App on all Southern Cross Care mobile phones and sent the link to all employees. The Daisy App enables those who are experiencing domestic or family violence to easily connect to a local service, such as support lines, emergency accommodation and counsellors. The phone app is developed with input from all state and territory governments and funded by the Department of Social Services.

“It is disturbing to think that in this day and age, family and domestic violence remains such a significant issue in Australia. Imagine a time when we didn’t need to speak up and speak out about domestic violence, a time when domestic violence wasn’t an issue, and a time when there was true equality between men and women. This is something that I hope will become a reality in time to come. Until then, Southern Cross Care will continue to do its part to help eradicate domestic violence so that it will become a thing of the past,” said Ms Horsnell.

Click here to find out more about Southern Cross Care Vic's aged care services.

Pictured: Staff members wearing white for a Southern Cross Care White Ribbon breakfast