Act to amend the Equal Treatment Act, the Working Environment Act, and the Vocational Training Act
It seeks to amend both the Equal Treatment Act, the Working Environment Act, and the Vocational Training Act.
According to the preparatory work for the Equal Treatment Act, an employer is required to ensure a harassment-free environment and protect employees against harassment. In the bill, the government proposes that this obligation is incorporated in section 4(2) of the Equal Treatment Act, emphasising the employer's responsibility in cases regarding sexual harassment by the obligation appearing directly from the wording of the Act. However, the obligation already exists under current law.
Additionally, the bill also proposes increasing the level of compensation by one-third in cases of gross sexual harassment. The proposal aims to hold employers who fail to properly address or take sexual harassment seriously accountable through higher compensation.
It is also proposed, as something new, that employees who are victims of sexual harassment at work should be able to claim compensation for injury to dignity or self-respect from the employee who committed the injury. Currently, such compensation can only be sought under the Liability for Damages Act. With the proposed changes, the injured party may choose to seek compensation under either the Equal Treatment Act or the Liability for Damages Act. This procedural amendment would also allow employees to file for compensation before the Board of Equal Treatment as an alternative to the common courts.
An amendment to section 16(a) of the Equal Treatment Act further clarifies that reliable statements from the injured party can serve as evidence in sexual harassment cases.
The bill also introduces a linguistic update, changing the term "sex harassment" to "sexual harassment". This is purely a terminological amendment with no substantial changes to the law.
The Working Environment Act includes updates to modernise and clarify the provisions regarding the duty of both employees' and employers to report issues in the working environment, including instances of sexual harassment in the workplace. The obligation exists under current law. The bill aims to emphasise that this duty also extends to the physical working environment without affecting existing legal rights.
Finally, several amendments to the Vocational Training Act are proposed. It is proposed that authorisation for company to serve as a place of learning may be revoked in cases involving sexual harassment. The bill also proposes incorporating into section 61(3) of the Vocational Training Act that the one-month notice period for terminating a training agreement may be disregarded based on a specific assessment. This may be done if the pupil or the apprentice terminates the agreement on the basis of sexual harassment. The Dispute Board already follows this practice, but the bill seeks to formalise it in the Act.
If the bill is adopted, the amendments will come into force on 1 July 2023.
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