Why Lenience Matters in Your Domestic Violence Leave Policy

16 Tips in 16 Days to Launch Your Workplace Domestic Violence Program

Day 10 of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

If you missed the beginning, you can go back to Day 1 here.

Domestic violence leave is a critical protection under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA). The ESA permits employers to request “evidence reasonable in the circumstances” to verify an employee’s eligibility for domestic violence leave.

But reasonable doesn’t mean required.

And even if your organization has a strict, across-the-board practice of requesting proof for all absences, there are strong reasons to adopt specific lenience for domestic violence leave.

1. Proof is often difficult to obtain for domestic violence leave

Domestic violence situations rarely generate tidy, documentable evidence.

Recall, the reasons for taking domestic violence leave are wide-ranging:

Entitlement to leave

49.7 (2) An employee who has been employed by an employer for at least 13 consecutive weeks is entitled to a leave of absence if the employee or a child of the employee experiences domestic or sexual violence, or the threat of domestic or sexual violence, and the leave of absence is taken for any of the following purposes:

1. To seek medical attention for the employee or the child of the employee in respect of a physical or psychological injury or disability caused by the domestic or sexual violence.

2. To obtain services from a victim services organization for the employee or the child of the employee.

3. To obtain psychological or other professional counselling for the employee or the child of the employee.

4. To relocate temporarily or permanently.

5. To seek legal or law enforcement assistance, including preparing for or participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to or resulting from the domestic or sexual violence.

6. Such other purposes as may be prescribed.

Say your employee chooses to move (#4):

• Shelters cannot disclose their location, and they may also refuse to send a verification letter because it compromises client safety.

• If the employee is staying informally with friends or extended family, there is no lease, receipt, or “proof” to produce.

• Even police reports or court records may not exist — many survivors never involve police, for safety or practical reasons.

Requiring documentation that simply doesn't exist creates an unnecessary barrier to a legislated entitlement and may discourage the employee from accessing supports altogether.

2. Lenience builds the trust needed for risk assessment and safety planning

As discussed in earlier tips, the cornerstone of a workplace domestic violence program is cultural safety — the employee must feel safe disclosing risk without fear of disbelief, reprisal, or bureaucratic hurdles.

When an employee discloses domestic violence and requests leave, they have already taken an enormous personal risk. Opening that conversation with:

“I’m going to need proof of this,”

…can immediately shut down trust.

Instead, trauma- and violence-informed practice suggests starting with:

• care,

• support,

• curiosity, and

• a collaborative approach to safety planning.

If you build that relationship of trust, it will become evident very quickly whether a request is legitimate. On the rare occasion that something does not add up, you can raise the issue later, once rapport has been established.

3. Lenience is also a risk management strategy

Domestic violence is a workplace safety issue, not just a personal one.

If demanding documentation discourages an employee from disclosing information you need to assess risk, your workplace loses the chance to:

• identify behavioural red flags,

• plan for the potential presence of a perpetrator,

• implement safety measures for the employee,

• protect coworkers and customers.

A flexible, trust-centred absence management process therefore benefits the entire workplace, not only the employee affected.

4. Lenience doesn’t mean lack of boundaries

A trauma- and violence-informed approach still allows for accountability.

If after a supportive discussion something seems inconsistent, employers can still ask for evidence at that point, in alignment with the ESA’s “reasonable in the circumstances” standard.

But the default posture should be support first, verification later (if needed) — not the other way around.

Ready to take action?

If you'd like help reviewing or rewriting your absence or domestic violence policy to align with best practices and legislative requirements, I offer both end-to-end program development and single-policy support. Please reach out. I'd love to speak with you.