Sexual Harassment Part 2: Know your rights (claim process)
As we touched on last week, the Queensland Human Rights Commission holds jurisdiction in relation to complaints of sexual harassment made under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (the “Act”). In order to commence the complaints process under the Act, you must first lodge a complaint form which can be completed online (https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au/complaints/make-a-complaint).
Procedural requirements
Once a complaint has been lodged with the Queensland Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”), the Commission must make a decision within 28 days to reject or accept the complaint. A claim will only be accepted if the Commission is satisfied that the complaint is made in good faith and the contravention is about conduct that has effected or is likely to affect relevant persons and it is in the interests of justice to accept the complaint.
In the event a complaint is not accepted, you have 28 days from the date the complaint was rejected to request reasons for decision from the Commission as to why the complaint was not accepted.
Once a complaint has been accepted by the Commission, a copy of the complaint will be provided to the respondent/complainee so they have an opportunity to respond to the complaint. The respondent/complainee has 28 days from the date they receive the complaint to provide a response.
The parties will then be invited by the Commission to participate in a Conciliation Conference. A Conciliation Conference is a private and informal opportunity for all parties to discuss what occurred, listen to each other’s views and come to an agreement about how the complaint can be resolved. Such resolution outcomes may include:
Making an apology;
Paying compensation for hurt feelings or lost wages;
Changing organisational policy or practices; or
Organising training in the workplace so that everyone understands their rights and responsibilities.
In the event the parties cannot come to a resolution, the complainant can choose to have their complaint referred to a tribunal for a public hearing. If you have a work-related complaint under the Act, it will be heard by the Industrial Relations Commission. All other unresolved complaints under the Act are decided by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Case Study
Sexual harassment in the workplace has been a longstanding issue with the Commission recently undertaking a national enquiry and publishing the report titled “Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report (2020)”. The report highlighted that almost two in five women (39%) and just over one in four men (26%) have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace between 2015 and 2020.
The decision of Golding v Sippel and The Laundry Chute Pty Ltd [2021] ICQ 14 provides a recent example of Courts holding employers accountable who allow sexual harassment and/or discrimination to take place in the work-place. This case involved Ms Golding who was employed by The Laundry Chute for approximately 14 months. Soon after commencing her employment, Mr Sippel began sexually harassing and discriminating against Ms Golding, including but not limited to the following:
Touching Ms Golding on the buttocks, to which Ms Golding would protest and Mr Sippel would laugh off the protests;
Offering $500 in exchange for sexual intercourse after Ms Golding offered to give Mr Sippel a massage for $50 to help his bad back;
Offering to let Ms Golding borrow his lawnmower in exchange for sexual intercourse;
Sexually assaulting Ms Golding by grabbing her inappropriately and making lewd comments of a sexual nature;
Increasing Ms Golding’s working hours and regularly propositioning her for sexual intercourse and when Ms Golding would rebuff him, Ms Sippel would send her home and decrease her working hours;
Taking advantage of Ms Golding’s financial situation by sending text messages to Ms Golding when she asked for additional work which implied they would only be provided in exchange for sexual favours.
The Commission ordered that The Laundry Chute pay Ms Golding the total sum of $50,950.75 on account of economic loss and general and aggravated damaged in addition to her costs on the relevant Court scale.
Ms Golding appealed against the amount of compensation and costs she was awarded. Whilst the cost order was not overturned, the Industrial Court of Queensland set aside the Commissions award of compensation and substituted it for a total amount of $158,702.60 plus costs. The vast majority of the compensation amount ($130,000) was for general damages and aggravated damages and reflected what the Court considered to be extremely serious conduct.
If you have been sexually harassed there may be legal avenues available to you including a complaint to the Commission.
To find out how Southside Legal can assist you with any sexual harassment and/or discrimination complaints, please contact our team for a confidential and obligation free consultation on 07 5600 1660.
