Domestic violence policy adopted by Charlottetown

The City of Charlottetown has a new policy to protect staff who may be experiencing domestic violence.

At a meeting Friday afternoon, council passed the Domestic Violence Policy &Safety Plan, which encompasses not only physical violence but also psychological, sexual, financial and spiritual abuse.

"Unfortunately domestic violence is a critical part of society that we have to deal with," said Coun.Terry MacLeod, who chairs the Human Resources committee.

The policy lays out the supports to which employees areentitled if they are experiencing domestic violence, including the options of relocatingto another officeor creating a flexible work schedule.

Theycould also receive up to three weeks of paid leave and additional days of unpaid leave, depending on the circumstances.

"It's important that when they come forward that we take that seriously and do everything we possibly can to make it easier for this person to get through the problem that's there," said MacLeod

The document also saysthe city will help perpetrators to get help when needed.

Safety for other employees

The policy also allows for the city to do a risk assessment of the situation and if it could spill over to the workplace.

The city plans to train staff torecognizethe signs of domestic violence and what to do if they witness it in the workplace.

Staff will be required to report anyincidents they witness at work to human resources or their manager.

"It affects not only the person, it affects the employeesand the people they have to work with," said MacLeod.

Management or human resources will alsowritea safety plan with the affected employee which will includeinformation like routes to workand choices around blocking the person's phone number or email.

The employee will also choose what should be done if their aggressor comes to the workplace.

More criminal checks

"It also prevents a workplace problem as well, maybe because the person isn't feeling 100 per cent that they're not doing they're job and then safety comes into play for not only the person but for staff as well," MacLeod said

The city said confidentiality will be a high priority, and when dealing with a potential situation at theworkplaceonly staff thatneeds to know for safety will be notified.

Also at the meeting, council passed an update torequire all new employees or those that switch jobs to provide a criminal record check.

In the past,checks were only required for those working with vulnerable populations or dealing with secure files. The city saw that the policy was out of date and wanted to change it, it said.

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