Domestic abuse in the workplace

About this event

Learn your legal duties, spot the signs, and create supportive policies that protect employees experiencing domestic abuse

Attendees will leave this session equipped to:

• Understand what is Domestic Abused and their legal obligations under UK legislation, including duties under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and accompanying statutory guidance, and the implied duty of care to protect employee wellbeing
• Identify warning signs in employees who may be experiencing domestic abuse, including changes in behaviour, performance issues, or visible signs of distress
• Recognise the scale and workplace impact - with 2.3 million UK adults affected annually, and research showing 90% of victims report their work performance is impacted, employers will almost certainly have employees affected
• Importance to a business and how to support staff affected by domestic abuse, what is available to support businesses in Lincolnshire

Guest speakers profiles: Kirsty Findlay

LinkedIn

Website (not live yet but will be before end of March)

Kirsty Findlay is an independent social worker and director of safeguarding consultancy business Beyond the File. With 18 years of experience across the health, social care and criminal justice sectors, she offers expertise in all-age safeguarding, mental health, mental capacity and domestic abuse. Kirsty currently authors statutory reviews nationally, including Safeguarding Adult Reviews and Domestic Abuse Related Death Reviews. She is also able to offer safeguarding training, audits, clinical reviews and supervision.

Natalie Watkinson

LinkedIn

Website

Natalie Watkinson is a Domestic Abuse Project Officer with the Lincolnshire Domestic Abuse Partnership, part of Lincolnshire County Council and has spent the past 17 years strengthening multi-agency responses and support for victims of domestic abuse. She was instrumental in establishing and administering Lincolnshire’s Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) from 2008, ensuring agencies worked collaboratively to reduce risk for high-risk victims. Since becoming Project Officer in 2015, she has partnered with GP practices, schools, and other organisations to improve awareness and support pathways across the county. Natalie now focuses on engaging local businesses to increase the understanding of domestic abuse, enhancing workforce wellbeing, and promoting wider community awareness.

Please note:

1. Webinar joining instructions will be sent to you again 1 day before the event, with a further reminder, 30 minutes prior to the event starting.

2. The session may be recorded and shared with people afterwards. Please bear this in mind and have your camera off if you do not wish for your image to be shared.

3. The chat function will be used for participants to engage with the webinar, so just be mindful of the login name you use and ensure you are happy for other people to see this.

4. For security reasons, it is requested that participants join the live session 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time and with the same name as registered on Eventbrite as not doing so may cause a delay or non-admittance to the event.

5. This event may include an external speaker who has prepared their own presentation. Any views or opinions expressed by the speaker are their own and do not reflect those of the CIPD.

6. If you require any reasonable adjustments to enhance your experience, please get in contact with us by responding to this email and we will do our best to accommodate.