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Published 11 October 2022 | 1 min read
Currently, an employee who wishes to raise a personal grievance that involves allegations of sexual harassment must do so in a period of 90 days. Proceeding through Parliament’s Select Committee process at the moment is the (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill.
The purpose of this Bill is to extend the time available to raise a personal grievance that involves allegations of sexual harassment from 90 days to 12 months. Coming forward to report sexual harassment can be difficult, and it is common for victims of sexual harassment to wait a long time before coming forward, if at all.
For a person who has been the subject of sexual harassment, 90 days may not be enough as it can take people some time to consider what has occurred and feel safe to raise it with others. This deadline imposes an arbitrary deadline on victims of workplace sexual harassment and makes it less likely they can formally raise concerns about the behaviour of colleagues.
This Bill will improve the personal grievance process for victims of workplace sexual harassment by allowing them sufficient time to consider what has happened to them before deciding to come forward. However, there will need to be clarity around the definition of what an “allegation” of sexual harassment constitutes in these circumstances.
The Select Committee is due to report back to Parliament on 18 November 2022.
Find more information on this bill here.