A business’ ability to secure contracts could come down to their due diligence to adhere to Respect@Work laws.
According to CCIWA HR & Workplace Relations Consultancy Manager Chris Nunn, a business’ responsibility of positive duty is increasingly becoming a factor in organisations’ service and product-based procurement orders.
“Under Respect@Work laws, every employer is responsible for stopping sexual harassment in the workplace from internal and external factors,” he says.
“Businesses that fail to comply with these principles risk not only losing tenders but also facing substantial damage to their reputation and potential legal consequences.
“We are particularly seeing this for service-based contracts and expect to see it for product-based contracts, too.”
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has the power to enforce positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.
This includes the right to investigate a business without an incident having occurred, and can be on the basis of something as minor as a tip, disgruntled employee or union request.
CCIWA has seen a recent increase in businesses wanting to upskill their employees on Respect@Work laws to increase their tendering prospects.
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How to demonstrate Respect@Work compliance
Nunn encourages businesses to include Respect@Work reporting in their tender strategies. CCIWA’s consultancy and training services can support a business from any stage of the reporting process.
“We recommend starting with a Respect@Work gap analysis. This involves an expert consultant taking you through the seven standards obligations,” he says.
“The consultant will go through a questionnaire with you and identify what sort of risks you have and highlight areas you have gaps, and areas where you have done well.
“Then, we would suggest you implement a Respect@Work policy. This is different to a sexual harassment policy you may already have in place as it needs to be written in line with the Respect@Work laws.”
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Nunn also advises organisations to undertake training in sexual harassment and other unlawful contact.
“And, ensure that senior leaders have read the AHRC guidelines and understand the seven standards,” he says.
Businesses can then prepare a report with initiatives that demonstrate their compliance with the seven standards, highlighting training their employees and leaders have done, diversity across teams, leadership and boards, results of audits carried out and any other initiatives.
“Having a public-facing document on your Respect@Work compliance will be advantageous for tenders and also employee recruitment,” Nunn says.
Barriers to meeting reporting requirements
Nunn says businesses are often facing financial and people resourcing challenges to meet Respect@Work reporting requirements.
“It’s common for businesses to hire new people specifically for reporting and compliance with these laws, and the seven standards even suggest this for larger organisations,” he says.
“There can also be a lack of awareness among employees and an unwillingness to take the obligations seriously. We see many businesses struggling with the education piece of respecting what needs to change, and in these circumstances an external consultant can be valuable in getting people on board.”
CCIWA hosts public Respect@Work training courses throughout the year and also offers a series of customisable training sessions for your employees and organisation. These are designed to have minimal impact on operational time to make them as accessible as possible for businesses. For more information on customised training contact [email protected]
We also have Respect@Work packs with eLearning available for purchase, or we can arrange a bespoke package tailored to your requirements and workplace. Find out more via [email protected] or on (08) 9365 7500.