Yesterday, Parliament voted to pass into law a Bill that will allow employees who have been sexually harassed at work more time to raise a personal grievance.

Where an employee has a personal grievance against their employer, they must bring it to the employer’s attention within 90 days. That timeline will be extended to 12 months where the grievance relates to sexual harassment. When the Bill receives Royal assent (likely in the next week or so) employers will be required to set out the extended timeline in their employment agreements, or risk a penalty from the Authority.

The 90-day time limit has been part of New Zealand’s employment law landscape for more than 30 years. The purpose of the time limit is to encourage employees to raise employment problems promptly and allow fast and effective resolution. Exceptions to the rule are only permitted with consent of the employer, when it is just to do so, or in ‘exceptional circumstances’. Even when time is extended, an extension of 12 months is rare.

The Bill was originally brought by Labour MP Dr Deborah Russell as a private member’s bill and was drawn from the ballot back in October 2021. Marja Lubeck became the Bill’s sponsor after Dr Deborah Russell was made a Minister. It has received unanimous support as it has worked its way through Parliament. The rationale behind extending the timeframe was that the special nature of sexual harassment and power imbalances in the workplace make it difficult for survivors to raise a grievance at all, let alone within 90 days. Sexual harassment is traumatising. It can be hard to identify and is often played down by perpetrators. As, then Bill sponsor, Dr Deborah Russell explained in the House:

“It is the sort of offence that can floor a person. It can render them unable to act. It can put them in such a position that they really don't feel capable of facing, in this instance, their employer, so it can take longer than 90 days to have the capacity to make a complaint of sexual harassment. That is why we have asked for the time to be extended to one year.”

Changes were made by the Select Committee to clarify that the time period would only apply to future claims, where the conduct occurred or became known to the employee after the Bill came into law. This means that an employee who was sexually harassed last week would still be required to raise a grievance within 90 days.

Any new employment agreements entered into after these changes come into force must include an explanation of the 12 month time period for an employee to raise a personal grievance alleging sexual harassment. Employers will need to update their template employment agreements to ensure compliance with these new requirements. This is also a good opportunity to carry out a wider review of your employment agreements and ensure they’re still fit for purpose and legally compliant. Get in touch if we can assist you with this.