This article was prepared with the help of internationally-recognised specialist employment law and litigation firm LangtonHudsonButcher (LHB), enableHR’s law partner in New Zealand.

In 2021, a former employee of MediaWorks shared a story about applying to MediaWorks for late consideration of her personal grievance claim. She had attempted to lodge the grievance years after she resigned, following alleged offences against her in the workplace and following QC Maria Dew’s independent review into MediaWorks. Unfortunately, because of a 90-day time limit for an employee to raise a personal grievance, the grievance wasn’t accepted and wasn’t actioned.

That has all changed, now. From 12 June, the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Act makes it possible for those with a personal grievance around sexual harassment in the workplace to lodge their claim within 12 months. This aligns this category of grievances with the Human Rights Act 1993

Here are the most important updates employers need to know  

• The one-year opportunity for staff to file a personal grievance applies if the grievance concerns sexual harassment claims. All other personal grievances are still limited to the 90-day window.
• Claims can only cover 13 June 2023 onwards. This means the new window for claims is not retrospective and applies to sexual harassment events that happened, or came to the notice of the employee, on or after 13 June 2023.
• The new time applies even if the employee leaves the employment during the 12-month period.

Be sure to change your employment agreements to specify 12 months instead of 90 days

From 13 June 2023:

• All employment agreements must include a plain explanation stating how to get help to resolve employment relationship problems and this must specify the new time to raise a personal grievance.
• Employers don’t need to update existing employment agreements.
• Employees and employers are covered by the modified time in the Act, regardless of the time noted in any employment agreement.
• Good faith obligations mean employers should discuss updating the agreements the next time they review them with their employees, however, in the case of legislative changes, they do not need to be agreed with the employee before updating Learn about employment contracts and good faith in NZ workplaces by reading this related article.

As an employer, what else do I need to be aware of?

Remember, the rationale of the Act is to allow victims of sexual harassment in the workplace and unacceptable conduct more time to consider whether they want to bring a personal grievance, thereby improving the process for victims. This takes into consideration the well-researched fact that victims of sexual abuse or harassment, generally take longer to report those events, than other workplace grievances.

• New employment agreements will need to specifically reference the 12 months within which an employee can raise a personal grievance for sexual harassment.  This is in addition to the requirement to specify 90 days for other types of personal grievances. Onboarding it the time to perfect your contracts, so be sure to use enableHR’s onboarding tools and workflows and get your contracts right.
• It is important to note that this requirement will apply irrespective of when bargaining or negotiations in respect of an employment agreement started, even where talks began before the commencement date.
• Employers could face a monetary penalty for failure to include reference to the 12-month period and the 90-day period in new employment agreements.
• A failure to update employment agreements entered into from 13 June 2023 means employees are provided with a defence if they fail to raise a personal grievance for sexual harassment within the extended timeframe.
• Click through to read this article if you’re aware workplace disputes or even termination may be coming, if there is a threat of a personal grievance or if you want tips on how to resolve a workplace dispute.

There are many employment agreements for my many staff. Some of these go back years. Will I get in trouble if I don’t update them?

You don’t need to update existing employment agreements.  However, you might want to review your relevant workplace policies, to ensure that those policies are up to date.

enableHR offers policy templates – please click through to explore enableHR NZ templates, guides and checklists and utilise them.

For specific guidance on how to address sexual harassment in the workplace, click through to read enableHR’s article. We’ve also written about toxic traits and workplace harassment in New Zealand which you’ll want to read about.

Exactly how do I ensure new employment agreements have the correct information?

If you’re a client of  enableHR, we are in the process of updating employment agreement templates for you, which will change the 90-day personal grievance window to 12 months.

If you’ve created your own bespoke or customised employment agreement with enableHR, you’ll need to update the 90-day personal grievance window to 12 months. Use our Knowledge Base if you’re unsure how to update your contract template.

Store your paperless employment contracts inside of enableHR so your records will be consistent and up to date across your business. It’s a powerful tool to help you stay compliant and keep your employment arrangements compliant with laws.

If you’re concerned that the wrong employment contracts could result in a penalty for your business, please contact the team at enableHR.

The information in this update aims to provide an overview of the new rules around how businesses engage independent contractors and is shared with the help of our law partner, LangtonHudsonButcher (LHB). LHB are an internationally recognised specialist employment law and litigation firm based in Auckland. The team of lawyers at LHB are experienced in negotiation, mediation, and advocacy. They work with the enableHR team to ensure every legal template, document, and checklist inside of enableHR is compliant. Learn more about LangtonHudsonButcher here.