Burnley's Calico Group national leader in domestic abuse support for staff

From April, all employees now have an additional term in their employment contracts which allows up to ten days paid leave when support is needed in situations involving domestic abuse.

The leave will allow survivors to attend court hearings and find new accommodation.

Anthony Duerden, chief executive of The Calico Group, said: “We are committed to the prevention of domestic abuse and recognise that it can have a devastating and long-term impact.

“The introduction of Safe Leave has been welcomed by staff and we have already seen increased awareness and more conversations happening around domestic abuse.

“We believe it is vital as a caring employer that we provide support when it is most needed and we hope that other companies will follow our example.”

The Calico Group is in the process of achieving the Domestic Abuse Housing Alliance accreditation, the benchmark for how housing providers should respond to domestic abuse in the UK.

The DAHA accreditation is part of the Government’s “Ending Violence against Women and Girls Strategy: 2016 to 2020”, and is the first step in delivering a consistent set of standards across housing providers in the UK.

The Calico Group also provides support through SafeNet Domestic Abuse Services.

For more information, call SafeNet Domestic Abuse Services on 0300 3033 581, email [email protected] or visit safenet.org.uk