In the next few days, Parliament is expected to pass the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill (the Bill). The Bill's purpose is to extend the time limit for raising a personal grievance claim for sexual harassment from 90 days to 12 months.
The Bill aims to improve the personal grievance process for victims of sexual harassment by allowing them more time to consider what has happened to them before deciding whether to raise a personal grievance. It recognises that the 90 day notification period can act as an obstacle for victims of sexual harassment who wish to raise a personal grievance.
Sexual harassment is often not a 'one off' incident and often there is a pattern of behaviour that escalates over a period of time. Due to the complex nature of sexual harassment, this Bill recognises that victims may need more than 90 days to seek support, consider their options and formulate a claim.
The Bill will amend the Employment Relations Act 2000 (ER Act) to create two different notification periods depending on the type of personal grievance that is being raised. Section 114(7) of the ER Act will define the new notification periods as follows:
- In respect of a personal grievance under section 103(1)(d) [personal grievance for sexual harassment], the period of 12 months beginning with the date on which the action alleged to amount to the personal grievance occurred or came to the notice of the employee, whichever is later
- In respect of any other personal grievance, the period of 90 days beginning with the date on which the action alleged to amount to a personal grievance occurred or came to the notice of the employee, whichever is later.
The Bill is currently awaiting its third reading, which is due to take place in the coming days. The Bill will come into force seven days after it receives royal assent. Once enacted, employers will need to amend the plain language explanation of the employment dispute resolution process in their individual employment agreements to include reference to the new 12 month period for personal grievances for sexual harassment.
We also encourage employers to consider whether their Bullying and Harassment policy or similar types of policies need to be updated to reflect this legislative change.
If you have any questions about this upcoming law change, or would like to discuss any other employment law topic, please get in touch with one of our team.
