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For many employees in abusive relationships, breaks from work are cause for fear, not celebration, and managers must therefore prepare for FDV disclosures, a leadership specialist says.

Statistics consistently show Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year are peak days for domestic and non-domestic assaults, ASPL Group CEO Kris Grant tells HR Daily.

"So while many workplaces wind down and close their doors, the risk of harm at home goes up."

Grant, whose organisation has explicit DFV provisions in its employee guidelines and contracts, says it's wrong for employers to consider this a "personal issue". Rather, it's a work health and safety issue, an economic issue, and a leadership capability issue.

"If you manage people, especially women, there is a good chance that at some point in your career, someone will sit in front of you and say a sentence like, 'I do not feel safe at home'," she says...