Redbridge Council signs Domestic Abuse Charter

On Friday 11 August, Redbridge Council signed the GMB Stop Domestic Abuse Charter supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse.

The Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal, was joined by Chief Executive Claire Symonds, Assistant Director of Employee Experience, Lynn Lane, Carlene Rose from Unison, Michelle Cook from Unite and Madeline Daley from GMB.

The GMB Work to Stop Domestic Abuse Charter calls on employers to support employees experiencing domestic abuse by ensuring that:

- Workers will not be disadvantaged at work

- Workers be supported with access to services and information   

- Employers train staff to be able to support staff appropriately and confidently

Anyone can experience domestic abuse regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sexuality or background. Domestic abuse is not always directed towards a current partner. It also includes behaviour towards an ex-partner or another family member over 16. It does not have to be just physical but can be emotional, psychological, financial, sexual or controlling.

Redbridge Council has signed the Domestic Abuse Charter, which highlights the responsibility to support council staff through new or difficult periods in their lives. Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on individuals and their families. According to the GMB Union, people experiencing it can be subject to disciplinary action or job losses, often through no fault of their own.

Staff experiencing domestic abuse may feel like their workplace is the only safe place for them and gives an important opportunity to get support away from their abuser. An understanding and effective workplace policy to deal with the impact of domestic abuse is therefore key and will build a more nurturing and safer working environment for all staff at Redbridge Council.

Further to signing the Domestic Abuse Charter, Redbridge Council's Spotlight Programme, set up to help perpetrators of domestic abuse to tackle their abusive behaviours, has received accreditation from Respect, the National Association for Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes and Associated Support.

With funding from the Home Office via The Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime, the Spotlight Programme was set up by the Council's Children's Services team. Redbridge is now the first Local Authority in London with an accredited perpetrator programme. Although the programme is perpetrator-focused, it puts survivors and children's safety at the centre of everything they do.

The Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal, said: "Redbridge Council is committed to tackling domestic violence and supporting people experiencing abuse, not only around the borough but also within our organisation.

"You never know what another person is going through at home, so here at Redbridge Council, we want to support our colleagues experiencing domestic abuse as best we can by providing access to support services and information confidentially.

"We will provide all our colleagues with access to toolkits, information and our policies on domestic abuse in a format that is easily and discreetly accessible and ensure that we have employees trained across our organisation to provide support within the workplace for every member of our workforce."