Changes to the Personal Grievance Timeframe

As you may be aware, in circumstances where you have been treated unfairly in your employment, you have the option to raise a personal grievance. You must raise the grievance within 90 days of the incident that caused you hardship in your employment. However, very recently this has been amended.

Personal Grievance Amendment – Sexual Harassment

Since 13 June 2023 employees now have 12 months to raise a personal grievance related to sexual harassment under The Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Act. The reason for this exception to the 90 day deadline is due to the particular emotional difficulty that victims of sexual harassment face. In many cases, those who experience sexual harassment do not report their experience for a long time or ever.

This is due to many factors that make these sorts of claims particularly complicated. In cases of sexual harassment there may be situations where criminal charges are being pursued which can limit employees from making progress through the employment jurisdiction. Of course, there is also the inevitable emotional toll that this sort of harassment can have on an individual. This extended deadline allows victims of this behaviour an opportunity to seek support before raising a claim which in many ways is beneficial to the emotional well being of the victim.

If you would like to learn more about this amendment, click here.

 

Published on Monday, June 26th, 2023, under Blog