Supplementary Order Paper No 331

No 331

House of Representatives

Supplementary Order Paper

Wednesday, 5 April 2023

Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill

Proposed amendment

Marja Lubeck, in Committee, to move the following amendment:

Schedule

In the Schedule, replace new Part 4 (page 5, lines 4 to 31) with:

Part 5 Provisions relating to Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Act 2021

19 Interpretation

In this Part,—

2021 amendment Act means the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Act 2021

commencement means commencement of the 2021 amendment Act.

20 Application of requirement for employment agreement to explain new personal-grievance period for sexual harassment
Collective agreements

(1)

Section 54 (as amended by section 4 of the 2021 amendment Act) applies to a collective agreement concluded on or after the date of commencement whether bargaining for the agreement was initiated before, on, or after the date of commencement.

(2)

Section 54 (as it read immediately before commencement) continues to apply to a collective agreement concluded before commencement.

Individual employment agreements

(3)

Section 65 (as amended by section 5 of the 2021 amendment Act) applies to an individual employment agreement entered into on or after the date of commencement whether bargaining for the agreement was initiated before, on, or after the date of commencement.

(4)

Section 65 (as it read immediately before commencement) continues to apply to an individual employment agreement entered into before commencement.

21 Application of new personal-grievance period for sexual harassment

(1)

This clause applies for the purposes of determining the period within which an employee who wishes to raise a personal grievance under section 103(1)(d) must—

(a)

raise the personal grievance; and

(b)

if applicable, notify a controlling third party that the employee considers that the actions of the controlling third party caused or contributed to the personal grievance.

(2)

Sections 114 to 115A (as amended by the 2021 amendment Act) apply in respect of a personal grievance if the action alleged to amount to the personal grievance occurred or came to the notice of the employee on or after the date of commencement.

(3)

Sections 114 to 115A (as they read immediately before commencement) continue to apply in respect of a personal grievance if the action alleged to amount to the personal grievance occurred and came to the notice of the employee before commencement.

Explanatory note

This Supplementary Order Paper amends the Employment Relations (Extended Time for Personal Grievance for Sexual Harassment) Amendment Bill (the Bill).

The amendment replaces new Part 4 of Schedule 1AA of the Employment Relations Act 2000 (which is set out in the Schedule of the Bill) with new Part 5.

New clause 20 clarifies that the new requirement for employment agreements to include a plain language explanation of the extended 12-month period for personal grievances in respect of sexual harassment applies only to—

  • collective agreements concluded on or after the date of commencement of the Bill; and

  • individual employment agreements entered into on or after the date of commencement of the Bill.

The amendment also updates the numbering of the Part in light of a recent amendment to Schedule 1AA of the Employment Relations Act 2000 by another Act and makes minor drafting amendments to new clause 17 (now new clause 21) for consistency with new clause 20.