It goes without saying that most companies are committed to providing a safe and productive working environment free from all forms of physical, emotional and verbal abuse. Harassment including sexual harassment in the workplace is unacceptable. Employees have a responsibility to respect the rights of their fellow employees, including the right to work in an environment free of sexual harassment. Employers and their managers also have a responsibility not to tolerate any form of harassment.
On 13 June 2023 the Employment Relations Act 2000 allows employees more time to raise a personal grievance related to sexual harassment, increases from 90 days to 12 months. For all other personal grievances, the time to notify the employer remains unchanged at 90 days. The new timeframe applies to sexual harassment events that happened, or came to the notice of the employee on or after 13 June 2023.
All employment agreements must include a plain explanation stating how to get help to resolve an employment problem. This must include the time to raise a personal grievance. From 13 June 2023, employers must include the modified time in new employments agreement and it would be prudent to update existing agreements the next time they are reviewed with employees.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
