Big Changes Ahead for Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

On 8th April 2021, the Federal Government announced that the Fair Work Act will be amended to include changing the definition of serious misconduct to include sexual harassment and making sexual harassment a valid reason for an employee to be terminated. The changes are part of the federal government’s response to the landmark Respect@Work report into sexual harassment in the workplace delivered by the Australian Human Rights Commission's sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins late in 2019.

Following intense public pressure, the Morrison government has meaningfully responded to the report with a plan entitled, “A Roadmap for Respect: Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces”. The roadmap recognises the importance of a preventative approach to stop sexual harassment before it occurs. It also expresses agreement, either in full, in part or in principle and “notes” the recommendations in the Respect@Work report.

Positive measures announced include:

?            Extending the time limit for making a sexual harassment complaint by victims to the Australian Human Rights Commission from six months to 24 months

?            Sexual harassment will be clarified as a form of serious misconduct that can warrant immediate dismissal

?            Parliamentarians and judges will no longer be exempt from being held accountable for sexual harassment complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act.

For employers, the Report is significant, as will be the proposed changes. This would help create the cultural change Australia needs and bring greater scrutiny of workplaces with significant sexual harassment problems. It reinforces that employers are required to proactively eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace to end the culture of silence and shame around sexual harassment, so anyone who experiences it can feel supported and empowered enough to call it out, whoever the harasser is.

Maintaining workplaces that are healthy, safe, and free from unlawful harassment and discrimination should be on the agenda for all employers.