Ms Mandy La Combre:

We have negotiated workplace policies and as part of those policies, an education piece is key. We have said all along that having domestic violence paid leave on its own does not work and that policies have to be in place too. The Danske Bank policy may be the best example of the training and education roll-outs. It was developed in conjunction with the police services, Women's Aid, the Rainbow Network and so on. They not only identified the training that needed to be done, they also rolled out the training with the bank. The policy is embedded in the culture of the organisation. When people start working with the bank, they are taught about the policy and the bank is continually assessing the policy and the way it is implemented. It permeates the organisation and everyone knows about it. It is really important to have that education piece and to have people in place who will implement the policy.

The Department's role here is to ensure that policies go hand in hand with the leave when it is introduced.