Working at home but at risk from abuse?

**Update 23 Dec:  People who are Clinically Extremely Vulnerable in Tier 4 areas of England are no longer  allowed to come to the workplace, even if they cannot work from home.  The Health Minister in Wales has also issued a notice that such people in Wales should also not attend the workplace.  Please contact us for advice if you are in this situation**

While the current advice from the Government is to work at home where possible, especially if you are  clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), this may be putting some members at an increased risk of abuse, whether physical, verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual or other.

Abuse can be a one-off or an ongoing pattern of behaviour; the one constant element is the abuser’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over their victim. It can be coercive, with threats, humiliation and intimidation; physical, causing injury or putting your life in danger; sexual, where sex is forced, aggressive or violent, even by a spouse or intimate partner; or emotional such as yelling, name calling, blaming and shaming.

If you are in this situation we may be able to help find alternative arrangements for you, such as working on your own in a nearby Nationwide office. Please do not suffer in silence – either speak to your manager, or to us, or seek external support through agencies such as:

Find out what what you can do when you’re fleeing from violence in the home, including finding emergency accommodation, from Citizen’s Advice:
Citizen’s Advice (England & Wales)   0800 144 8848 (England)  0800 702 2020  (Wales)
Citizen’s Advice Scotland  0800 028 1456 (Scotland)
NIDirect  0800 915 4604 (Northern Ireland)

Galop – the National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline: The LGBT+ anti-violence charity  0800 999 5428

Hourglass: The only UK-wide charity dedicated to calling time on the harm and abuse of older people 0808 808 8141

Mankind Initiative: Helping men escape domestic abuse 01823 334244

Refuge National Domestic Abuse Helpline: For women and children, against domestic violence 0808 2000 247

Respect: Helpline for male victims of domestic abuse 0808 8010327

Respect: Helpline working with perpetrators who wish to stop 0808 8024040

Respond: Working with children and adults with learning disabilities, autism or both who have experienced abuse, violence or trauma 0207 383 0700

SignHealth: Helping deaf people find safety and security. Text or WhatsApp/Facetime 07970 350366

Women’s Aid: Connect to a support worker via their instant messaging service

Or, if you are in an emergency situation, please call 999. If you are calling from a mobile and are unable to talk, press 55 and do not hang up. A police call handler will try and engage with you; if you remain silent they will attempt to engage further and ask you to tap the phone if you are unable to speak; for example, yes and no questions can be asked by the call handler and answered using one keypad press for yes and two for no. If you can say only one thing, please say your location or at least cough so they know you are there. For more information search Silent Solution on the internet.

You can also read Nationwide’s Domestic Violence – Employee Guide or Domestic Violence – Manager Guide on our website.

You can view Nationwide’s Guide for Domestic Stress  or Clinically Extremely Vulnerable return to work exception process document on the Intranet.