Domestic Abuse

An unhealthy and abusive relationship at home, can have significant consequences for employers throughout the country.

Approximately 30,200 people aged 16 to 74 are experiencing domestic abuse per year in Lincolnshire. With 75% of those are being directly abused at work and 54% missing at least three days of work a month.

Employees suffering domestic abuse are also more likely find it difficult to concentrate and focus at work, and have a hard time progressing within their role.

• 1 in 5 said they would stop going into work or take days off
• 1 in 10 have quit their job due to the impact of the abuse they were experiencing

The cost of domestic abuse to businesses, is estimated at £316 million a year due to:

• decreased productivity
• time off work
• lost wages
• sick pay

Identifying domestic abuse is part of a business’s safeguarding duty of care, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

It can have an adverse impact on staff morale, as well as a business’s image and reputation.

We want to establish links with businesses in the county to help you support staff affected by domestic abuse.

Free workshops for businesses

Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Partnership [LDAP] are pleased to announce they are now offering online workshops for businesses, to help support employee well-being, safeguarding and upskill domestic abuse champions.

The workshops are aimed to improve the skills and knowledge of the business on each topic area so they can then recognise if an employee is impacted by the subject discussed at the workshops and feel confident about the next steps.

Businesses will learn what support services are available in Lincolnshire and nationally.

The workshops will cover the following topics:

• adult safeguarding
• child safeguarding
• mental health
• domestic abuse
• drug and alcohol issues

These will all be online for one hour, on a Tuesday at 9.30am periodically throughout the year.

The first being held on the 19 November at 9.30am ‘Adult Safeguarding within the work place’ is available to book by Microsoft Teams 

Business engagement offer

Business engagement is a national response for employers to have a consistent approach in understanding and supporting those in work that may disclose domestic abuse. In Lincolnshire, business engagement is key to identifying and offering appropriate support to those experiencing domestic abuse. The support is free and can help your workforce to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

This engagement will give your business the confidence to:

• raise the issue of domestic abuse with staff
• increase the wellbeing and mental health of your workforce
• demonstrate the effectiveness of your safeguarding procedures
• demonstrate that you can create a culture of vigilance to actively promote your workforce’s welfare
• identify when members of your workforce may be at risk of domestic abuse
• identify if a person is worried about their own behaviour in their relationships
• listen to the concerns of your workforce and support them accordingly

Our free support for businesses

Is currently under development, and this website will be updated as soon as possible.

If you are interested in the work we have already carried out in Lincolnshire visit our YouTube site for business engagement that has already happened in Lincolnshire.

You can also find national resources:

National toolkit at the Employers' Initiative on Domestic Abuse.
Domestic abuse toolkit for businesses at Vodafone.