The executive director of the Centre Against Abuse is urging local firms to educate themselves about domestic violence.

“Domestic abuse is not simply a private family matter,” Laurie Shiell said. “It affects our workplaces, our communities and our economy.”

She said there is growing recognition that domestic abuse affects workplaces as well as families and communities, but addressing it cannot be left to the human resource department, alone.

“It requires a whole-organisation approach that includes human resources, managers, reception, security, IT and senior leadership,” she said.

Ms Shiell said the answer is not for HR to become a counsellor or to solve an employee’s relationship problems.

“The responsibility is to recognise when something may be wrong, respond appropriately, understand workplace safety, respect confidentiality and know when to connect that employee with specialist support.”

She said HR professionals cannot create a safe workplace if they only look at what happens between 9am and 5pm.

“People bring their lives to work,” she said. “When something happening at home begins to affect an employee at work, we need to know how to respond.”

The CAA is using October’s Domestic Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month to encourage local businesses to move beyond awareness and prepare their workplaces to respond.

To that end, the CAA is hosting a masterclass on domestic abuse and the workplace, on October 7 from 9am to 1pm at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club at 25 Pomander Road, Paget.

The event is designed for HR managers and officers, people and culture professionals, occupational health and safety teams and leaders responsible for employee wellbeing.

“We want people to leave the masterclass feeling prepared, not frightened, because there are practical things workplaces can do to support employees and create safer environments,” Ms Shiell said.

The class is $225 and includes breakfast and lunch.

• Register by Friday by calling the CAA at 292-4366 or e-mailing info@centreagainstabuse.bm