Employers held responsible for domestic violence when staff work from home

The NSW Court of Appeal has ruled that employers can be held responsible for domestic violence when staff work from home.

In a June decision, the court ruled against an insurer's appeal over a workers compensation case brought by the children of a woman who was killed by her de facto partner while working at home. (See Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer v Hill [2020] NSWCA54.)

This tragic event occurred in 2010 when the couple were both working from home for their family company, giving financial advice. An earlier court found the man's attack was due to paranoid delusions. He was charged with murder, but found not guilty due to mental illness.

The mother left two dependent children, a teenage son and a baby just a few weeks old. The children made claims for workers compensation. The claim was resisted by the Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer on the grounds that the family company had long since been deregistered.