Workplace harassment is vexatious or inappropriate behavior directed against an employee or group of employees by another employee or group of employees in a work context. Harassment can take many forms: physical, verbal, psychological or even virtual. Harassment can have harmful and destructive effects on victims, and it’s important that companies take steps to prevent and counter it.
Employers, avoid a labour standards complaint
Do you comply with harassment standards? Have you drafted a policy? Do you know what recourse your employees have in the event of harassment? Have you provided your workers with a complaint form? Are you involved in harassment prevention? Are you taking the necessary steps to stop harassment in the workplace?
What the law says in Quebec
Section 81.19 of the
Act respecting labour standards
(L.N.T.) states that “Every employee has the right to a workplace free from psychological harassment. Employers must take reasonable steps to prevent psychological harassment and, when such conduct is brought to their attention, to put a stop to it. In particular, they must adopt and make available to their employees a policy for the prevention of psychological harassment and the handling of complaints, including, among other things, a section on conduct manifested by words, acts or gestures of a sexual nature.”
Definition
The article 81.18 of the L.N.T. provides the following definition: “a vexatious behaviour manifested either by repeated behaviours, words, actions or gesturesthat are hostile or unwantedwhich violates the dignity or integrity of the person. which results in a harmful work environment for the employee.. For greater clarity, psychological harassment includes such conduct when it manifests itself through such words, acts or gestures of a sexual nature. A single serious conduct may also constitute psychological harassment if it causes such harm and produces a continuing harmful effect for the employee. “
Survey
The filing of a formal complaint must be followed by an investigation to establish whether or not there is harassment in the situation reported.
Our Human Capital team, made up of members of the Ordre des conseillers en Ressources Humaines Agrées (CRHA and CRIA), can carry out an investigation for you. We offer a professional, confidential and impartial harassment complaint management service. It may be difficult for an employee to confide in the contact person you have identified within your company, as he or she may believe that there is a conflict of interest between this contact person and the person he or she is seeking to denounce.
The advantages of outsourcing are numerous. First of all, a person from outside your company doesn’t know the various individuals involved in your organization and can therefore do his or her investigative work without being influenced by preconceived ideas or rumors circulating in the workplace about an individual. Conclusions can therefore be more objective. You can then justify your decisions, including any disciplinary or administrative sanctions imposed on the harasser, by basing them on the conclusions and recommendations of the report provided by the external consultant. All this will help you maintain a good working relationship afterwards.
When is harassment in the workplace?
All complaints must be handled with the utmost sensitivity. Of course, allegations can sometimes be misleading. We must therefore take the time to analyze the formal complaint and the evidence received to determine whether or not we are dealing with a case of harassment in the workplace. In all cases, a complaint is evidence of a problem affecting the organization, whether it concerns a single person, several colleagues or the entire workplace. So we need to understand what really led an employee to file a harassment complaint. What’s more, an investigation will inevitably have an impact on the people involved, and the investigation process can be emotionally difficult, which is why the person in charge of the investigation needs to show a great deal of empathy.
Some concrete examples of harassment in the workplace in its various forms
Psychological harassment
- Condescension and paternalism undermine self-respect;
- Isolate or ignore a person;
- Spreading rumors about a person;
- Ridiculing or humiliating a colleague;
- Etc.
Sexual harassment
- Inappropriate remarks of a sexual nature;
- Questions of an intimate nature;
- Proposal or solicitation of unwanted favors;
- Obscene gestures;
- Whistling;
- Posting of obscene images, photos or material;
- Unwanted physical contact, such as touching, pinching, grabbing or brushing;
- Etc.
Discriminatory harassment
Discriminatory harassment, when based on one of the various grounds protected by section 10 of the Charter, is considered sexual harassment or psychological harassment by the CNESST.
- Making fun of a person’s disability;
- Refusing to work or speak with an employee because of his or her sexual orientation;
- Gender identity and expression;
- Remarks or insinuations about a person’s ethnic or national origin;
- Etc.
Cyberbullying
Cyberstalking is also a reality of psychological harassment in the workplace. Transmitting intimate photos of a colleague by technological means is one example.
The consequences of harassment in the workplace
Victims and those around them can experience a great deal of suffering, and the consequences can be many and varied, including physical and psychological health problems, consumer problems, problems with career prospects and so on. In addition to the impact on the victims, the CNESST tells us that companies themselves and their work climate are affected; that a loss of productivity, interest and commitment from staff members is likely, that the quality of services may decline, and that the risk of error, absenteeism and turnover tend to increase.
An employer may be required to pay substantial sums in damages. For example, in the Helbawi and Transelec / Commun inc. case, the employee who was the victim of psychological harassment by his supervisors received six months’ salary plus interest since the filing of his complaint, and $40,000 in damages from his employer.
How to prevent harassment in the workplace?
Anti-harassment policy
As part of your policy, you must first appoint at least one person within or outside your company to receive and handle complaints. You must foresee and present the recourse available to your employees in the event of harassment. You must also define harassment so that your employees are able to identify behaviors or situations that do or do not constitute harassment. It is mandatory to circulate this policy to all company personnel.
Employers can be fined between $600 and $6,000, depending on the circumstances, if they fail to implement a harassment prevention and complaint management policy.
Having trouble drafting a policy tailored to your company? Just contact us!
Training and information
Part of the solution to workplace harassment is prevention. Consult our 2023 training calendar to find out about our occupational health and safety and human resources training offerings.
A virtual training session on harassment in the workplace will be held on May 11, 2023. Please note that this training can be given by our team directly on site, and can be addressed to employer representatives or employees. By offering this training to the members of your organization, you inform them and raise their awareness of harassment in the workplace, helping to provide them with a healthy, harassment-free workplace.
