Mr. David Joyce:

I thank the members for the opportunity to come and speak before the committee. I do not think I could put it any better than the Chair has in terms of the upheaval caused to the lives of people trying to deal with this and the importance of creating a safe space where they can withdraw from work for a period and get the support they need. For us, ten days is key in that regard.

Another point we touched on was trying to ensure this has as broad a scope as possible in respect of employees. You might say that as a trade union official, I would say that, but it is really important in this context because it is women who are more likely to be in part-time, less secure employment. For women with a history of experiencing domestic violence, their work history will be impacted by this also. The narrower you make the definition of "employee", the likelihood is you will miss many people who really need this and they will, therefore, not be able to avail of it.