AIB is giving employees suffering domestic abuse or violence up to 10 days a year of paid leave and up to five days of paid emergency accommodation.
The Dublin, Ireland headquartered bank announced the provisions as part of its commitment to provide a more supportive workplace. It is also offering security services to keep individuals safe on their way to, from and at work, counselling, and a salary advance options to help them with their finances.
Last month (March), the Oireachtas in Ireland passed the Work Life Balance Act, which introduced new workers’ rights, including five days of paid domestic violence leave, making it one of the first countries to introduce statutory leave for these reasons.
The Act also included five days of unpaid medical care leave for parents of children under 12 and carers, the right to request flexible working for parents and carers, the right to request remote working for all staff, and two years of breastfeeding breaks.
AIB’s chief people officer Geraldine Casey said: “We welcome the Work Life Balance legislation. As one of Ireland’s largest employers, we want to show our commitment to stand with colleagues experiencing domestic violence and to ensure that we are creating a culture that keeps the wellbeing of our people to the forefront.
“The enhancements to our policy provide important practical supports and build on the resources that we already have in place. Our policy has been informed by the experience of a staff member who was a victim of domestic violence and is now working to improve supports for vulnerable customers. We are committed to continue to play our part to support both colleagues and customers impacted by this sensitive societal issue.”
The bank, which employs around 9,590 people, also announced the expansion of a host of other HR policies, including an enhanced family leave provision to improve the work-life balance of its parent employees. This includes seven weeks of parents’ leave on full pay, 10 days a year of fertility leave for those undergoing treatment, and two days for staff who are the partners of those having treatment, surrogacy leave and compassionate leave for workers affected by pregnancy loss at any stage, whether it happens to them, their partner or a surrogate.
