Domestic Abuse Awareness Month - October 2026 & I'm Talking About Economic Abuse
As well as Menopause Awareness, October is also Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, created because millions of people spend years navigating harm that is hidden, misunderstood, minimised, or dismissed, especially in workplaces. Awareness months exist because silence has consequences. When we don’t talk about domestic abuse, people suffer in isolation, organisations miss what’s really happening, and preventable harm continues.
There are many themes being discussed between different councils and communities, and I am talking about Economic Abuse.
Why This Matters for Businesses
Domestic abuse doesn’t stay at home, it comes to work with people. It affects attendance, concentration, confidence, communication, financial stability, and psychological safety. And because domestic abuse is often invisible, workplaces can unintentionally overlook the signs.
Across the UK, many organisations have employees who are quietly navigating domestic abuse while trying to maintain their roles, responsibilities, and performance. These individuals often hold years of experience, specialist knowledge, and critical duties. Losing them, not because of capability, but because of fear, instability, or a lack of workplace understanding, is a risk no business can afford.
It’s also vital that workplaces never dismiss how someone is feeling. Domestic abuse is complex, varied, and deeply personal. When someone says they’re struggling, they need to be listened to, believed, and supported, not minimised or brushed aside. This is how organisations retain talent, protect wellbeing, and ensure people can continue performing at their best.
Why Economic Abuse Is a Workplace Issue
Economic abuse is one of the most powerful and least recognised forms of domestic abuse. It involves controlling someone’s access to money, resources, employment, or financial independence. It can look like:
Restricting access to bank accounts
Sabotaging work attendance or performance
Forcing someone to hand over wages
Preventing someone from working or studying
Building debt in their name
Monitoring spending or financial decisions
Using financial instability to trap someone in the relationship
Economic abuse directly impacts a person’s ability to work safely, consistently, and confidently. It affects:
Attendance — missed shifts, lateness, sudden absences
Performance — stress, distraction, exhaustion
Financial wellbeing — debt, instability, fear
Career progression — blocked opportunities, reduced confidence
Safety — increased vulnerability when someone is financially dependent
For many people, economic abuse becomes daily, unpredictable, and debilitating. And because it’s often invisible, it’s easy for others to misinterpret what they’re seeing.
How Domestic Abuse Impacts People in the Workplace
Domestic abuse doesn’t stay behind closed doors. It can affect:
Concentration and memory
Confidence and communication
Attendance and energy levels
Emotional wellbeing and resilience
Access to money, transport, or childcare
Ability to attend training, meetings, or development opportunities
And when colleagues or managers don’t understand domestic abuse, it can lead to:
Jokes or comments that unintentionally hurt
Assumptions about performance or attitude
Misinterpretation of behaviour
People feeling embarrassed or afraid to speak up
Individuals pushing through harm until they burn out
Domestic abuse can be life altering, and economic abuse is one of the forms most likely to be overlooked, yet most likely to impact work.
Domestic Abuse Doesn’t Only Affect One Type of Person
Domestic abuse can happen:
In any relationship
At any age
In any community
To any gender
In LGBTQIA+ relationships
To people with disabilities
To people with high level careers or senior roles
To people with limited financial independence
Economic abuse is especially dangerous for those who:
Are financially dependent
Have caring responsibilities
Have disabilities
Are experiencing health conditions
Are isolated from family or friends
Are navigating immigration or visa restrictions
Every pathway is valid. Every experience deserves compassion.
Why Awareness Matters
Awareness months exist to shine a light on what’s been hidden. Talking openly about domestic abuse and economic abuse:
Reduces stigma
Helps managers understand what they’re seeing
Protects employees from being judged or singled out
Encourages earlier support and adjustments
Builds safer, kinder, more inclusive workplaces
No one should feel embarrassed about harm they didn’t choose. No one should suffer in silence because their workplace doesn’t understand domestic abuse.
Bullying, Minimisation, and Harm in the Workplace
Minimising someone’s experience of domestic abuse, even unintentionally, can cause deep harm. It can make employees feel:
Undermined or talked over
“Stupid” or less knowledgeable
As though their safety doesn’t matter
Excluded from conversations
Afraid to speak up or ask for support
When these behaviours go unchecked, they can turn into bullying, damaging morale, psychological safety, and retention. Addressing this openly is essential for creating workplaces where every person feels respected and protected.
A Landmark Step: Tesco Becomes the First UK Supermarket to Offer Paid Leave for Domestic Abuse
This month also marks a significant moment in UK workplace safety. Tesco has become the first major UK supermarket to introduce paid leave for employees experiencing domestic abuse, giving people time to seek support, attend appointments, secure safety, and stabilise their situation without fear of losing income.
Their policy includes:
3 days (21 hours) of paid safe leave for anyone experiencing domestic abuse
Confidential support pathways
Specialist guidance for managers
Clear processes to ensure safety and dignity
This is a powerful, compassionate step, and it sets a precedent for what supportive workplaces can look like. Paid leave gives people breathing space. It gives them time to get safe. It gives them protection from financial harm, which is especially vital during Economic Abuse Awareness Month.
It shows what is possible when a business chooses to lead with humanity.
But similar policies, such as protected paid leave, emergency accommodation and training staff to spot the signs of domestic abuse, have been enacted at other UK companies, including BP and Vodafone.
Not All Businesses Can Offer Paid Leave, But All Can Offer Safety
It’s important to acknowledge something honestly: Not every organisation can afford to offer paid domestic abuse leave.
Some can. Some can’t. Some can offer it partially. Some can support in other ways.
But every business can offer unpaid time off without judgement as a bare minimum, time to attend police appointments, court hearings, refuge assessments, medical support, or safety planning.
And every business can find ways to help cover that time compassionately, such as:
Adjusting rotas
Allowing flexible hours
Offering remote work where possible
Avoiding deductions where the business can absorb the cost
Using supportive policies to guide decisions fairly
The key is this: If you have a good policy, and you follow it with compassion, consistency, and without judgement, you are already doing meaningful, protective work.
Domestic abuse support is not about perfection. It’s about safety, dignity, and humanity.
What Matters Most Is the Culture Behind the Policy
A policy alone doesn’t keep someone safe. A compassionate, structured, judgement‑free culture does.
When workplaces:
Listen
Believe
Protect confidentiality
Offer time without punishment
Follow clear procedures
Avoid assumptions
Treat every situation as valid
…they create an environment where people feel able to speak up long before crisis point.
Tesco’s decision is a milestone, but every organisation, regardless of size or budget, can take meaningful steps to support employees experiencing domestic abuse.
And that support can save lives.
How My Workplace SafeSpace Training Helps Me Support People
In 2021, I completed Workplace SafeSpace training, a specialist programme designed to help professionals recognise domestic abuse, respond safely, and support people with compassion and confidence.
This training strengthened my ability to:
Identify signs of domestic abuse (including economic abuse)
Offer safe, confidential conversations
Understand risk factors and escalation
Support employees without judgement
Help organisations create safer pathways for disclosure
Build policies that protect people experiencing harm
It’s a core part of how I work, and why Starlit People approaches domestic abuse with seriousness, sensitivity, and humanity.
How Starlit People Supports You
Domestic abuse support is becoming a core part of workplace wellbeing, safety, and compliance. I help organisations become safer, more informed, and more compassionate through structured, practical support:
Policy creation and amendments
Domestic abuse and economic abuse guidance
Manager and team training
Safe disclosure pathways
Workplace adjustments
Signposting to specialist organisations
Support for employees navigating harm
Every organisation should be preparing now, not just for compliance, but because protecting people is part of responsible leadership.
Domestic Abuse Support Shouldn’t Wait Until Someone Is in Crisis
With the right policies, training, and safe pathways, organisations can create workplaces where people feel understood, supported, and valued, not judged, dismissed, or left to cope alone.
Please reach out if you think I can help your organisation become a safer place for anyone experiencing domestic abuse.
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