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Workplace Safety & Paid Leave
If you are employed and you have experienced domestic violence, or you have a child living with you at least part of the time who has experienced domestic violence, then you are entitled to:

Paid Domestic Violence Leave

Up to ten days of paid Domestic Violence Leave annually for reasons relating to domestic violence, in addition to holiday, sick leave etc. This may be in relation to domestic violence no matter how long ago it occurred, even if it was before your current job.

Short term flexible work

Request short-term flexible work arrangements for up to two months for reasons relating to domestic violence. This includes changes to your work hours, location, or duties, or any other relevant employment terms.

By law,  your employer may request or require ‘proof’ of the domestic violence in order to provide these entitlements, but many employers do not. If your employer does require proof, they may accept a letter of support from a specialist support agency like Shine. Ring our Helpline or your local domestic violence specialist service to ask if we can help with this.

By law, your employer may not discriminate against you on the basis of you being affected by domestic violence. If you feel that you are being discriminated against or treated adversely or unfairly at work because of you being affected by domestic violence, you can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission or to Employment New Zealand.

Read more about your entitlements under the Domestic Violence – Victims Protection Act 2018.

Under the Health & Safety Act, your employer must take all “reasonably practicable steps” to eliminate any risks in a workplace that could cause harm to an employee. There hasn’t yet been a legal test of what employers’ obligations are in this area, but many employers are proactively offering workplace safety planning for employees affected by domestic violence.

You might want to suggest or share Shine’s workplace safety planning checklist with your employer which is in our DVFREE Guidelines on Policy and Procedures that are free to download.