In possibly the first policy of its kind in India Inc, FMCG company Hindustan Unilever Limited rolled out a policy for survivors of abuse not limited to the workplace, but also if it happened at their home or online. The policy is gender neutral, and applies to all employees of the company.
“This Policy seeks to protect and grant relief to employees who are survivors of abuse, or acts of physical/emotional abuse beyond the workplace, i.e. in their personal (home) or other public spaces including online medium,” HUL’s policy read.
Support that the employee is entitled to receive includes access to urgent medical care and psychological counselling support for themselves and family members as directed by the company’s Medical and Occupational Health team and paid leave of upto 10 calendar days. It also includes reimbursement of lodging and boarding expenses for 15 calendar days for the employee till they arranges for a separate accommodation.
“Any additional expenses borne by the employee for lodging/boarding for other family members will be borne by the employee directly,” it states.
It also allows employees to temporarily work out of an HUL office in a different city or have a flexible working arrangement up to 30 calendar days.
For employees who are on a monthly incentive pay-out, the incentive for the month where the issue is reported will be protected at an average rate of last three months earnings.
This policy covers domestic abuse as well as in public places or the internet:
For domestic abuse, it defines it as “Any act of abuse by an intimate partner or family including:
- Physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse that harms, injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb, or wellbeing, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person.
- Any act that harasses, harms, injures, or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce the aggrieved to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security
- Has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to the aggrieved.
HUL said it shall fulfil its obligations, if any, under the provisions of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
For physical or online, the policy covers rape or molestation, harassment, stalking or eveteasing, cyberstalking, harassment or bullying, and any other acts detrimental to the wellbeing of the employee.
With the home being the workplace for many for the last nine to ten months, domestic violence complaints spiked during the lockdown. As of June, domestic violence complaints were at a 10-year high, and UN women called violence against women during COVID-19 as a ‘shadow pandemic’.