Extended time for bringing sexual harassment grievance

At a glance

A bill is currently before the New Zealand Parliament, the purpose of which is to extend the time available to raise a personal grievance that involves allegations of sexual harassment from 90 days to 12 months.

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A bill is currently before the New Zealand Parliament, the purpose of which is to extend the time available to raise a personal grievance that involves allegations of sexual harassment from 90 days to 12 months.

This extension of time is intended to allow victims of sexual harassment to consider their options and raise a personal grievance once they are comfortable doing so. The rationale behind the amendment considers the trend of harassment being reported after a longer period of time as well as the general difficulty in raising such a complaint.

The Bill proposes to amend section 114 of the Employment Relations Act 2000 with the addition of a new subsection (1A) which provides that an employee must raise a personal grievance within 12 months if it “involves allegations of sexual harassment”.

While the Bill is still in its draft form, there is growing concern about whether the current wording would allow personal grievances to be raised on other grounds, outside the current 90-day period, provided they “involve” a claim of sexual harassment. It is likely this clause will be subject to change due to the loophole created by the current drafting.

There does not appear to be political resistance to the Bill. While it is likely to be passed into law, there is no time-frame for when this will occur. In the context of other legislative developments, this Bill does not appear to be a political priority.