York-based Employment Law firm, Torque Law, has become a member of The Employer’s Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA), a business network that works with employers to tackle domestic abuse, which has been thrown into sharp focus during the Covid-19 crisis.
Working from home removed the workplace as a safe reprieve for those experiencing domestic abuse, and calls to the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, and visits to its website have risen exponentially during the crisis.
The legal sector is not immune to the challenges of supporting staff during lockdown and beyond, and there has been widespread recognition of the increased onus on employers to provide support and protection for employers for whom home is not a safe place. EIDA has provided targeted toolkits and signposting for its 800 strong membership, as well as facilitating exchanges of best practice, successful initiatives and policies through virtual networking meetings.
As well as joining EIDA, Torque Law is working with its clients to highlight the importance of being able to identify and support vulnerable employees. As part of this initiative, they are hosting monthly virtual coffee mornings at which they will share advice and best practice, and clients can talk peer to peer. Torque Law is also a corporate partner of York based women’s charity Kyra which helps local women to make positive changes in their life.
Emma Whiting, Partner, Torque Law, said: “The statistics surrounding domestic abuse during the pandemic are extremely alarming. The Domestic Abuse Bill finally received Royal Assent on 29 April 2021 which has taken over 12 months to pass, far longer than anticipated because of Covid-19, but will hopefully help to further raise awareness of the issue.
As women, employers and lawyers we feel compelled to do as much as possible to highlight this increasing problem and give the best advice possible to our clients when it comes to being able to support members of their team who may be vulnerable. We are proud to be part of the legal sector that is coming together to combat this issue and thankful to EIDA who are providing us with valuable toolkits to share with our clients.”