A guide for employers on the new legislation, which recently passed its third reading
by Julia Leenoh and Karyn Gould
This article was produced in partnership with K3 Legal
The Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievances for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill has recently passed its third reading in Parliament last week with overwhelming support, with Royal Assent typically given within seven days. As such, it is important for employers to familiarise themselves with the upcoming amendments and take proactive measures to adapt to these changes.
The Bill recognises that victims of sexual harassment often require significant time to process their experiences and feel comfortable enough to report them. Currently, employees have a narrow 90-day window to raise a personal grievance, irrespective of the nature of the incident. Under the new legislation, employees will be granted an extended timeframe of 12 months to file a personal grievance if it relates to sexual harassment within the workplace.
In addition to understanding this extended timeframe and how employers need to respond to future claims, employers must ensure that their employment agreements templates, policies and procedures are all updated to reflect these changes. When considering policy updates as it relates to sexual harassment, we suggest reviewing the recommendations outlined in this article written by K3 Consulting’s Katrina Kemp. Organisations may also consider updating communications and training for employees and leaders.
The newly updated section 65(2)(a)(vi) of the Employment Relations Act 2000 mandates that employment agreements include a clear language explanation outlining the services available for the resolution of employment problems, including a reference to both the standard 90-day window and the new 12-month window for sexual harassment claims.
We recommend that clients’ prepare updates to their documents and practices in advance, to be ready to roll out as soon as the Bill is assented. This also presents an opportune time to assess the adequacy of broader workplace policies, and ensuring that they have clear procedures for their people to escalate and respond to questions, concerns and complaints.
Julia Leenoh ,Director, K3 Legal
Julia is a director of the litigation and disputes resolution team and leads the Korean team at K3 Legal. Julia specialises in civil litigation and dispute resolution, frequently appearing in the High Court. Julia has extensive experience in a wide range of matters, including property law, commercial and corporate, contract, construction, tort, insolvency, trusts and estates, employment and family law. Julia holds a Master of Law degree from Duke University (North Carolina, USA) as well as a Bachelor of Law Honours degree from the University of Auckland, where she completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree majoring in finance. She was admitted to the New Zealand Bar in April 2014 and was subsequently admitted to the New York (USA) Bar in August 2016. Julia is considered a frontrunner in her field and was selected as a NZ Lawyer rising star for two consecutive years in 2022 and 2023.
Karyn Gould, Senior Consultant, K3 Consulting
Karyn is passionate about building “next practice” – the ways of being and working, to meet the needs of today and tomorrow. She leads thought, learning, and behavioural development. Her experience in business consultancy, as well as over 17 years in the People and Capability space, across a broad range of industry sectors, enables her to develop powerful insights to organisations. She draws on these insights to establish and provide pragmatic and valued solutions. As a result, organisations, groups and individuals are empowered to effectively align their people strategy and organisational initiatives to achieve business, people and customer outcomes. Karyn establishes trusted relationships and partnerships, using her leadership, learning and communication experience to affect change and growth.
