In late 2021, the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill was introduced into Parliament. This Bill has now passed the committee of whole house stage and is awaiting its third reading, following which it is likely to be passed into law.
If this Bill becomes law, what effects will it have?
The Bill proposes to extend the timeframe for raising a personal grievance for sexual harassment from 90-days to 12 months.
This means that if an employee believed they had a personal grievance for sexual harassment, they would have 12 months from the date on which the relevant action occurred or came to their notice (whichever is later) to raise that grievance with their employer.
Further, if the employee wanted to join a controlling third party to any proceedings regarding a sexual harassment grievance, they would have 12 months to notify the controlling third party of their belief that the controlling third party caused or contributed to the personal grievance.
If the Bill becomes law, these changes will come into effect on the day after the resulting Act receives the Royal Assent (“Commencement Date”). The changes will apply to actions which occurred or came to the notice of the employee on or after the Commencement Date. If an action occurred or came to the notice of the employee before the Commencement Date, then the existing 90-day period for raising the grievance will continue to apply.
For the avoidance of doubt, all other personal grievances (i.e. those not relating to sexual harassment) would still need to be raised within 90-days.
What does this mean for employers?
Employers will be required to:
- Advise their existing employees of the changes so that they have a clear understanding of how to raise a personal grievance for sexual harassment. This should be done in writing and a copy kept on the employee’s personnel file.
- Update any employment agreement templates and ensure any future employment agreements reflect the changes so that employees receive accurate information regarding the raising of personal grievances.
- Update any sexual harassment policies to reflect the changes.
If you would like further information on this Bill or any other employment law advice please contact Shima Grice, Partner, or Lucy Nolan, Solicitor – get in touch here.