Domestic abuse advice

New domestic abuse guidance from the Santander UK bank has been welcomed by the CWU communication workers’ union. The union has been pressing Santander to develop the guidance for some time.

“Domestic abuse is an important issue for many of our members” said Nigel Cotgrove, CWU national officer for the Santander Group. “Over 7% of women and 5% of men report domestic abuse each year which is about two million people across the UK and research suggests also that domestic abuse is under reported.

The guidance, which also applies in Santander subsidiaries Geoban, ISBAN, and Produban, includes a range of steps that the bank will consider to help staff the victims of domestic abuse. These include relocating jobs, changing bank account arrangements or attendance patterns and giving time off for legal meetings.

“The bank has a good record of dealing with individual cases that we are aware of, but for the first time there is now clear guidance on how to get assistance which should help members and managers deal with difficult situations and which emphasises that there are many ways in which changes at work can be supportive,” said Cotgrove.

The guidance can be found on the Santander intranet site which is also accessible from home and CWU members can also call the union’s 24-hour Harassment Helpline on 0800 107 1909.

www.cwu.org/news/archive/cwu-welcomes-new-domestic-abuse-guidance-at-santander-uk.html