Human Rights Commission or Personal Grievance for Harassment and Discrimination?

If you are being discriminated against, or if you have been the victim of racial or sexual harassment, at work, you have the choice of taking your complaint to the Human Rights Commission or going through an employment process.

If you go through an employment process, a personal grievance will usually be raised and the issue can be resolved by direct negotiation, at mediation, or at the Employment Relations Authority.

Sometimes people ask which is the best way to progress their case – through the Human Rights Commission or through the employment disputes processes. We can assist you with either, however, we believe that, in most cases, the employment process is by far the best way to take your case forward. Taking your case forward through an employment process is likely to be far faster and cheaper than going to the Human Rights Commission. You will retain control of the case and you have the right of free, confidential and speedy access to the Mediation Service, an excellent resource provided by the government. If you are still employed, we can often get you a mediation within 1-2 weeks.

The same employment processes also exist to protect employees who have been unfairly accused of harassment or discrimination and who may have been unjustifiably dismissed or disadvantaged as a result.

Please contact us if you have any issues or questions.