Just 60 per cent of employers have a policy for granting leave in relation to domestic abuse despite it being a legal requirement, the latest CIPD/Industrial Relations News survey has found.
The figure is up by a quarter on last year but CIPD director Mary Connaughton expressed surprise that more companies had not adapted to the legislative changes which came into effect in November 2023 and provided for victims of domestic abuse or those family members or friends who might provide support to them to take up to five days’ leave in a 12-month period.
“It’s well over a year since this legislation took effect and workplaces of all sizes have no excuse not to have it in place – both to protect their existing employees and demonstrate to potential recruits that they are a supportive and progressive organisation,” she said.
The survey found almost half of companies say the introduction of auto-enrolment pension contributions later this year will pose administrative, compliance and financial challenges, meanwhile, and 29 per cent of organisations employing fewer than 50 people say they will cut back on other pay or benefit improvements in order to meet the cost.
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Just eight per cent of the more than 200 companies polled said they expected to employ fewer people as a result of having to make contributions to the scheme but the results suggests significant concern ahead of the scheme’s September start date about the costs involved, especially among smaller organisations.
Some 46 per cent of respondents said they would seek to have new employees join company pension schemes from day one, potentially doing away with waiting periods and other qualifying criteria in a bid to avoid duplication or other complications.
“There are a lot of companies grappling with issues like this and trying to have their houses in order by September 30th,” CIPD’s Meg Dunphy told the IRN conference in Belfield on Thursday.
Sentiment regarding likely pay increases in 2025 among participating firms was down slightly on a year ago with the average increase anticipated put at 3.66 per cent compared to 4.11 per cent in the 2024 survey.
The number of companies expecting to grow the number of people they employ this year was also down five per cent at 42 per cent.
