Managers' Guidance

The aim of the assessment

This guidance has been produced for University of Exeter managers with the aim of giving guidance to successfully support colleagues experiencing domestic abuse, harassment or stalking. The aims of the assessment are to:

• provide a safe and supportive work environment
• orovide a quiet, supportive forum for colleagues to speak openly and in confidence about their situation
• provide a structure to the conversation to ensure that all aspects are considered
• identify support available at the University and to implement that support

Preparing for the assessment

To prepare for an assessment, managers should consider the following aspects.

• Agree a suitable venue and time with your colleague.
• Agree who will be there. It is not appropriate to have multiple people in the room, but your colleague can be supported by a friend or colleague. Your colleague should be able to feel comfortable to be open about issues they are facing.
• Prepare the environment. Switch off phones and emails and ensure you are not going to be disturbed by anyone else. Try to arrange furniture to ensure it is a supportive space and not feeling like an interview room.
• Prepare yourself. You need to feel calm and ready to support your colleague. It may be a good idea to try and keep your diary free for a couple of hours as it may take longer than you expect and it wouldn’t be appropriate to have to leave mid-way through the assessment.

Completing the assessment

You will need a blank assessment recording sheet and will complete the assessment by hand. At the beginning of the meeting you should complete the following.

• Set out the process that you are going to be taking your colleague through (i.e. show them the assessment and explain how it is used).
• Explain the aims of the process and that you would like to try and identify issues and establish how the University may provide support.
• Ask your colleague to be as open as they feel able.
• Suggest that you can stop at any time if things become too difficult.
• Explain that you anticipate it will take an hour, but you have plenty of time so no need to watch the clock.
• Consider referring/using other HR policies and procedures which may be appropriate (e.g. compassionate leave policy, sickness absence policy, emergency leave policy, capability/performance procedures).
• You should listen carefully and, above all, believe your colleague when they disclose issues they may be experiencing.
• Reassure your colleague that the organisation has an understanding of how domestic abuse may be impacting them at work and what can be done about this.

Confidentitality 

Colleagues experiencing domestic abuse may feel concerned about disclosing abuse to a line manager. Managers should reassure individuals that discussions will be held in confidence, although there are some circumstances in which it may not be appropriate for confidentiality to be maintained (i.e. safeguarding of children and/or vulnerable adults, or if a serious offence has been committed). However, if you are concerned we advise you to discuss this with a domestic violence expert first such as the Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA), contact details of which can be found in the University’s Domestic Abuse web pages. Please ensure that your colleague knows that some details will need to be shared to encure the recommended actions from the risk assessment can be completed.

Things to avoid in the assessment process

• Do not be judgmental and make comments i.e. about the perpetrator’s behaviour or your colleague’s response.
• Do not give advice to your colleague – for example do not pressurise them into leaving.
• Do not dismiss issues.

Review and next steps

At the end of the assessment, summarise the steps that you will now take to support your colleague. If you are not sure how something can / should be taken forward, commit to finding out and add this to the action plan. Support can be sought from your manager, HR, Occupational Health or specialist services such as the Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) - full list of support services can be found here: DA External Resources. Set a date for reviewing the support put in place, consider repeating the assessment if the situation has changed. This process can be reviewed as periodically while the situation is ongoing.