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📋 Toolbox Talk  ·  Employment Rights

Domestic Abuse
at Work

Employer duties, time off rights, confidentiality, how to support colleagues and where to get urgent help.

✅ Verified August 2026📚 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 · ACAS🇬🇧 England, Wales & Scotlandukworkrights.co.uk
Understanding

What is domestic abuse?

  • The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 defines domestic abuse as physical, emotional, coercive, economic or psychological abuse between intimate partners or family members
  • Domestic abuse affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in their lifetime
  • It does not have to be physical — coercive control, financial abuse and stalking are all covered
  • Abuse can happen to anyone regardless of gender, age, sexuality, ethnicity or income
  • The workplace is often where abuse is most visible — patterns of calls, monitoring, turning up at work
  • Colleagues and managers are often the first to notice warning signs

⚠ Signs to look out for

  • Unexplained injuries or absences
  • Controlling calls or messages at work
  • Increased anxiety, withdrawal, poor concentration
At work

Employer duties and your workplace rights

  • Employers have a duty of care for employees' wellbeing — including situations of domestic abuse that affect work
  • ACAS guidance strongly recommends employers have a domestic abuse policy
  • You may be entitled to paid or unpaid leave to attend court hearings, move home, seek legal advice or attend appointments
  • Your employer should treat absence related to domestic abuse with sensitivity and confidentiality
  • New Zealand-style domestic abuse leave is advocated in the UK — some employers already offer it voluntarily

✅ Confidentiality

Anything you disclose to HR or a manager about domestic abuse should be treated as strictly confidential. Your employer should not share it without your consent except where there is an immediate safety risk.

💡 Practical adjustments

Your employer can help by: changing your work location or hours, withholding your address from company records, screening calls, and liaising with building security.
Urgent help

Getting support — for yourself or a colleague

1
If you are in immediate danger — call 999

Or use the Silent Solution: call 999 and press 5 if you cannot speak. Police will attend.

2
National Domestic Abuse Helpline — 0808 2000 247

Free, confidential, 24/7. Run by Refuge. Also available via web chat at nationaldahelpline.org.uk.

3
Talk to HR or a trusted manager

Ask what your employer's domestic abuse policy says. Request practical adjustments — confidentially. You do not have to give details if you don't want to.

4
Apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO)

Police can apply for an emergency DVPO to remove an abuser from the home. You can also apply for a Non-Molestation Order through the courts.

5
Contact Citizens Advice or Shelter

For housing, financial and legal advice. Many local authorities have domestic abuse housing teams who can arrange emergency accommodation.

Urgent & free support

You are not
alone

Confidential support is available 24/7. Your workplace can help too.

National DA Helpline — 24/7
0808 2000 247
nationaldahelpline.org.uk
Men's Advice Line
0808 801 0327
mensadviceline.org.uk
Galop — LGBT+ abuse
0800 999 5428
galop.org.uk
Emergency services
999 (or 55 if silent)
nationaldahelpline.org.uk

General guidance only — not legal advice · Verified August 2026 · © UK Work Rights Ltd · Company No. 17228507 · ICO Registration No. ZC239465 · Registered office: 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ  ·  hello@ukworkrights.co.uk
Directed and published by Matt Thompson, founder
Content is produced with AI assistance and checked against primary sources including GOV.UK, ACAS and legislation.gov.uk before publication.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.