Commonwealth Bank has promised unlimited paid leave to any staff member affected by domestic and family violence, becoming one of the largest companies in Australia to do so. The lender announced on Friday it was revising its 10 days paid leave policy to provide to an uncapped amount of time for any of its 48,200-plus staff who are affected by a domestic violence issue. CBA joins other Big Four banks ANZ and National Australia Bank in offering an uncapped amount of leave. "Due to the size of our workforce and the horrifying scale of this issue in our community, we know we have many people who work here who are directly impacted by domestic and family violence," CBA human resources executive Sian Lewis said. "This may include time away from work to navigate the immediate crisis, attend medical appointments, meet with counsellors, secure safe housing, or to meet legal obligations." The bank said it will also continue to provide five days paid leave for any employee helping an immediate family member or a member of their household.
Commonwealth Bank is the latest of the big Four Australian banks to offer unlimited paid leave to employees dealing with domestic or family violence. CBA human resources executive Sian Lewis said the measure enabled staff to deal with their crises, meet counsellors, attend medical appointments or deal with legal obligations. CBA said it would also continue the policy of offering Friday paid leave to staff helping an immediate family member or someone in their household deal with the issue. ANZ and CBA also make such provisions.