Jan 25

Domestic Abuse ‘Safe Leave’ Bill proposals

Written by Joanna Lofthouse
Chartered Legal Executive

DDI: 01423 724635
M: 07892 792457
E: jo.lofthouse@raworths.co.uk

Labour MP Alex McIntyre will seek to introduce the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill to the House of Commons tomorrow (7 January 2025) to enable MPs to consider whether a proposal of up to 10 days paid time off work ‘safe leave’ would assist people experiencing  domestic abuse.

Domestic abuse is somewhat a hidden crime however one that has a big impact upon all of society. The Office of National Statistics set out the worrying reality in 2022:

• 1 in 5 adults will experience domestic abuse during their lifetime
• 4 million adults experienced domestic abuse in 2022 (1.7 million women and 699,000 men)
• 1,500,369 domestic abuse- related incidents and crimes were reported in England and Wales in the year ending March 2022
• Every 30 seconds a domestic abuse related call is made to the police
• It is estimated that less than 24% of domestic abuse related incidents are reported to the police

In addition, The Home Office reported in 2019 that the social and economic costs of domestic abuse were estimated at £66 billion in England and Wales in the year 2016-17. £14 billion of this is the cost to the economy arising from lost output due to time off work.

What does this mean?

At this time those suffering domestic abuse, who require time off work to deal with the issues that they face are required either to take time off work as annual leave, to seek compassionate leave, if this is available or if they are unable to work to seek the assistance from their GP. However if this Bill becomes law this would allow people experiencing domestic abuse to be able to take several days of ‘safe leave’ to assist them in the challenges that they face including:

• Finding a place of safety
• To be able to attend police interviews
• To be able to take legal advice
• To attend urgent court hearings
• To assist with immediate linked health issues

What happens now?

The Bill is at its very early stages and at this time with no guarantee that it will become law.

This Private Member Bill will be introduced to the House of Commons on 7 January 2025 and the House will then decide whether or not it should be introduced. If successful this will be taken to be the first reading of the Bill and a date will be set for the proposed Bill to be debated at a second reading.

If the Bill progresses to the second reading further consultation and possible amendment would be required. This would also need to be considered from an employer’s perspective as to how this could work in practice.

This does not assist those experiencing domestic abuse at this time but by it being on this government’s agenda it ensures that this issue is again brought to the fore. We understand that this is part of a number of measures that the government are considering in order to try to reach its own ambitious mission to halve domestic abuse over the next decade.

If you would like to discuss any of the details in this article, please contact family law specialist Jo Lofthouse at Raworths, based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Published on 6 January 2025