The Respect at Work Act | Turning Policies into Prevention

It’s been two years since the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 came into effect and almost twelve months since the end of the transition period. I’m curious to understand how successful organisations have been on implementing the new legislation given the significance of the shift. I would imagine organisations are gearing up for a twelve-month review.

So, what changed?

Honestly, a lot. The new legislation saw a shift in focus from a reactive approach to complaints to proactive prevention. Employers now have a legal obligation to take proactive and meaningful action and have a positive duty to eliminate workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination and sex-based harassment. In addition to the change in legislation, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been granted new regulatory powers to investigate and enforce compliance with the legislation.

The Respect at Work Act focus’ on seven standards that employers must address; leadership; risk assessment and transparency; culture; knowledge; support; reporting and measuring.

Let’s pull them apart a little more to ensure we have a clear understanding of what is now required.

Leadership

Leaders within an organisation are new required to understand and prioritise gender inequality and to recognise the power imbalance that may be present in their workplace. They are required to provide clear and visible leadership in this area and to act as role models within their organisation. As the Situation Leadership model suggests:

Lead Self – Lead People – Lead Organisation

Risk Assessment & Transparency

The risk management process for sexual harassment is not unique and comprises of the familiar steps of identify; assess; control and review with management commitment, consultation and transparency underpinning this process.

Culture

As you know, culture if often defined as “the way we do things around here” and extends to include shared values and beliefs. This can be a challenge for leaders to influence as the culture of an organisation can be deeply embedded.

To foster a positive company culture, leaders need to ensure the presence of positive cultural norms such as equality and equity; respects; ethics; accountability; inclusion support and a zero tolerance for sexual harassment. In addition, they need to ensure that have defined company values and behaviours and to invest their time to ensure employees are engaged in this change.

Knowledge

The knowledge held and shared within an organisation is another complex issue in the context of sexual harassment.

What we do know is that one off, standalone training on this topic does not work. Instead, sexual harassment as a topic needs to form part of the overall education strategy of the organisation, have a multi-pathway approach and be ongoing. Learning and education should consist of informal learning, micro learning, social learning and include bystander and targeted training.

Support

The legislation calls for a person-centred approach with the impacted person having agency over how and when they report and inclusion in the decision making throughout the process. This does not however negate an organisations duty of care to do everything they reasonably can to make sure their workplace is safe.

There are nine principles that an organisation should have in place to provide the appropriate level of support for the impacted person. Empowerment; privacy & confidentiality; no judgement; keep them informed; safety; continuous improvement; equal treatment; flexibility and no assumptions.

Organisations should provide this level of support before, during and after the event.

Reporting

Reporting relates to the way in which an organisation responds to a reported incident of workplace sexual harassment as well as the avenues created for people to make a report. The way in which an organisation manages the reporting of these incidents can have a significant impact on the complainant and the respondent.

These principles should be considered when designing your workplace reporting process. Accessible, clear, and simple; timely; transparent; multiple reporting avenues; multiple resolution pathways; outcome and consequences; people centred; no victimisation and confidentiality.

Measuring

This refers to the effectiveness of the preventative measures you have in place within your organisation. Effective measuring will allow you to understand; identify; measure and monitor sexual harassment within your organisation.

So, what does effective measuring look like?

1.????? Define what you want to measure and how to measure it.

2.????? Analyse data to gain greater insights.

3.????? Communicate results and insights.

4.????? Operationalise it – turn your insights into actions.

5.????? Refresh your data to ensure it remain relevant.

Some recent updates

In late 2023, a record number of damages, $268,000, was paid to an employee who was found to have been sexually harassed during her employment, Taylor v August and Pemberton Pty Ltd. This case demonstrated that the courts are willing to act and award substantial penalties.

On 10 September 2024, the?Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Bill 2024 (Qld) passed by the Queensland Parliament to amend the?Anti-Discrimination Act 1991?(Qld). The Bill strengthens protections for workers and enhances responses to sexual harassment, vilification, and discrimination in Queensland workplaces.

In a media release Steven Miles said, “These laws now put the onus on an employer to take reasonable steps to eliminate and prevent discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace.”

On 19 September 2024, the Parliament passed the final piece of legislative reform from the recommendations of the Respect@Work report. This Bill prevents a court from ordering an applicant to pay a respondent’s costs in discrimination cases in the Federal Court except in certain limited circumstances.

It was implemented as the Respect@Work report found that applicants are often deterred from proceeding to court with sexual harassment matters because of the risk of having to pay a respondent’s costs.

How are we doing so far?

The goal of the Respect at Work legislation is to improve workplace safety and reduce sexual harassment, discrimination, and bullying in our workplaces. Early evaluations highlight several key points.

Effectiveness

Early analysis suggests that the legislation is a step forward in promoting safer workplaces, particularly with its emphasis on proactive measures rather than reactive responses. However, long-term success depends on organisations ability to maintain sustained efforts, enforcement, and cultural change.

Adoption by Organisations

As you would expect, there has been a mixed response. Larger companies have been successfully implemented formal policies and training programs, while smaller organisations have struggled due to limited resources. Many have adopted the new legislation by focusing on compliance rather than genuinely embedding the principles of respect into their culture. As already noted, culture change is more complex and therefore more difficult than compliance therefore this observation is not surprising.

Challenges

A recurring theme is the difficulty in translating legal requirements into meaningful behavioural change. Having policies and training is no longer enough. Creating an inclusive, respectful culture in your organisation requires ongoing leadership commitment, multi-dimensional education to support a knowledge shift, and the engagement of your employees.

In summary, while the new legislation has been welcomed as a positive and necessary legal change, its practical success relies on how successfully organisations can integrate its principles into daily operations to shift the culture of their organisations.

?If you need help implementing Respect@Work into your organisation, send me a DM or Book a Discover Call ?https://calendly.com/rachelcasey/discovery-call

#Respect@Work #employeesafety #employeeengagement?

Research Sources

Australian Government | Respect@Work

Australian Human Rights Commission

Cooper, Grace Ward Lawyers | New sexual harassment obligations for employers under the Respect@Work Act: a positive and proactive approach (April 2024)

The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory Media Release | Miles Government putting Queensland workers first (September 2024)

Attorney Generals Media Release | Respect@Work: Groundbreaking costs reform for discrimination cases passes Parliament (September 2024)