Posts: Respect@Work

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) protects employees from sexual harassment, and as part of the Respect@Work amendments now prohibits sex-based harassment.

As the silly season approaches, employers must ensure that they thoughtfully plan their end-of-year celebrations and carefully consider the potential risks associated with hosting work-related functions.

The Federal Government introduced several employment law changes last year, with varying commencement dates. Employers should be particularly mindful of the changes which commenced from December 2023 and the impacts they will have on the workplace as we settle into the new year.

With the new Respect@Work amendments now in place, employers should be mindful of a recent decision handed down by the Fair Work Commission where it upheld the dismissal of an employee on the basis that swearing at a colleague constituted sexual harassment.

On 25 November 2022, the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022 (Respect@Work Bill) was passed by the Federal Parliament.The Respect@Work Bill will implement the outstanding seven recommendations made by the Australian Human Rights Commission in its ‘Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020)’.