Are you up-to-date with new ‘Respect at Work’ legislation?
On Monday the 28th of November 2022, the Federal Government passed the the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022. The new legislation seeks to implement the recommendations from the Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Workplace 2020 report.
With this new legislation, your responsibility and duty of care as an employer shift from being reactive, by dealing and addressing issues as they occur, to being preventative through the creation of a workplace that is free of all forms of discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. The new Bill puts the onus on the employer to take reasonable measures to actively eliminate as far as possible any forms of discriminatory conduct in your workplace.
What is changing?
The Bill introduces a positive duty on all employers to “take reasonable and proportionate measures” to eliminate as far as possible all forms of unlawful sex discrimination. It aligns with section 106 of the Sexual Discrimination Act which makes the employer accountable for unlawful conduct by their employees unless they can show they have taken all “reasonable steps” to prevent employees from engaging in discriminatory conduct.
Unlawful sexual discrimination includes but is not limited to:
- discrimination on the grounds of a person’s sex
- sexual harassment, or harassment on the grounds of sex
- hostile workplace environments and
- acts of victimisation in response to allegations, assertions, complaints or proceedings made under the Sexual Discrimination Act.
Among other changes, the Bill also grants powers for the Human Rights Commission to investigate and issue compliance notices on business.
What does this mean for me as an employer?
You are required to take stock of your business and take action which includes but is not limited to;
- Reviewing your policies and procedures to ensure they’re up to date and inclusive of the new changes
- Reviewing the culture of your workplace and putting in place additional measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination, harassment, and victimisation
- Actively introducing training and engagement initiatives that will contribute to a positive workplace
Where do I go to for help?
The government has given employers 12 months to make the necessary changes. More information about the changes can be found here.
Here at Purpose.People Solutions, we understand this is a lot to take in and our team of experts are available to help. Give us a call on 0437 870 773 or email us and we’ll help you.