By Kiren Narayanan - 14 Aug 2018
There is a lot of talk around the new domestic violence
leave introduced by the Domestic Violence - Victims Protection Act
2018 which was passed in July. However, the Act introduces another,
less known, but equally striking change. In addition to being
granted 10 days' domestic violence leave, an employee who is a
victim of domestic violence can request a variation of their
working arrangements for up to two months.
The working arrangements that may be varied include the hours
and days of work, the place of work, duties and any contact details
required to be made available to the employer.
Employees have this right regardless of when the domestic
violence occurred, even if it happened before the employee became
an employee of the employer.
A request for a variation of working arrangements must be made
in writing and must comply with the requirements set out in the
Act. The employer must deal with the request no later than 10
working days after receiving it. Failure to deal with the request
within this period gives an employee the right to raise a personal
grievance against the employer.
The employer may only require proof of the domestic violence if
the request is made as early as possible and within three working
days of receiving the request.
The employer can refuse a variation of working arrangements if
either no proof of the domestic violence is provided or if the
request cannot be reasonably accommodated. Whether the variation to
the working arrangements can be reasonably accommodated is defined
in the Act.
Contact our employment law team if you have
any queries.