Staff at AIB are to be offered ten days of paid leave if they are experiencing domestic violence.
Affected staff will also be offered five days' of emergency hotel accommodation at the bank's expense and can also avail of in-house support to help protect their financial independence.
The Minister for Children and Equality, Roderic O'Gorman is welcoming the initiative.
“I’m delighted to see AIB taking positive steps to support employees experiencing domestic violence. The government has made tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence a priority, and last month the Oireachtas passed the Work-Life Balance Act, which will provide statutory entitlement to paid domestic violence leave".
AIB says the initiative has been informed by the experience of a staff member who was the victim of domestic violence.
AIB Chief People Officer Geraldine Casey says, "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 support for vulnerable customers. We are committed to continuing to play our part to support both colleagues and customers impacted by this sensitive societal issue.”
AIB also has a range of supports in place for our customers experiencing domestic abuse and has partnered with Women’s Aid and the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland to heighten awareness around financial abuse.
This includes training to enable our customer-facing colleagues to recognise the signs and assist customers who may be subject to financial abuse and coercive control.
AIB also operates a dedicated Additional Support Helpline which can be contacted Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm by calling 0818 227 056.
Domestic Abuse Helplines:
Women’s Aid 1800 341 900 or womensaid.ie/
Men’s Aid Ireland: 01- 5543811 or mensaid.ie/
Safe Ireland: 1800 341 900 or safeireland.ie/
