Ontario Harassment Prevention Training

Harassment prevention for Ontario employers

Ontario employers have an increased responsibility to provide a workplace free of harassment as part of their requirements in Bill 168 which took effect June 15, 2010. AND the new Bill 132 Ontario requirements which take effect September 8, 2016.

Under Bill 168 there are three key requirements for Employers to meet.

• Prepare a Workplace Harassment Prevention Policy
• Develop and maintain a program to implement the Harassment Policy
• Inform and provide instructions to workers on the contents of the Harassment Policy

Effective September 8, 2016 the amendments under Bill 132 make the Employers requirements more explicit and in some cases include direction on the level of the requirement that must be met. They include:

• The development of a written harassment prevention program developed in consultation with the joint health and safety committee or the company safety representative.
• The establishment of an Incident reporting process with alternatives to report the incident to in the event the designated person to receive reports is involved in the incident.
• To conduct an investigation which is appropriate to the circumstances and maintain confidentiality during the investigation.
• To communicate the results of the investigation and any corrective action in writing to the people involved.
• To review the harassment prevention program as often as necessary, and at least annually to ensure the program is effective at protecting workers and preventing incidents of sexual violence and harassment.

Preparing a Harassment Prevention Policy
There are resources available on the Ontario government website to assist you in preparing a Harassment Prevention Policy if you do not already have one. If you already have a policy it is a good idea to compare it to the samples available to ensure you have covered key points such as defining what is meant by Harassing Behaviour. The link to this website is at the end of this article.

Implementing a Harassment Prevention Policy
Once you have developed a policy for your organization the next step is to implement the policy. This step typically involves ensuring the policy is posted and every person in the organization is aware of the existence of the policy.

This would include providing details on what to do in the event you are involved in an incident of harassment. In some cases you may have a form for people to submit an incident of harassing behaviour and it would be clear for all employees how this process works for reporting an incident as well as the process for resolving an incident once reported.

Informing and Educating Workers on Harassment Prevention
With a written policy in place, and a clear process documented, you can now take the step of educating employees on the details of the policy to ensure an understanding of what harassment is and what it is not, what to do in the event they are involved in an incident of harassment.

Ideally this step is more than just a one time action as the more frequently we are exposed to information and ideas the greater impact they have on our thoughts and long term behaviour.

For more information on Ontario Harassment Prevention Training contact:
info@SafeAndCertified.com

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