Company Name Strives to Create and Maintain a Climate of Mutual Respect and Understanding

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HARASSMENT AND RESPECT IN THE WORKPLACE

(YOUR COMPANY NAME) strives to create and maintain a climate of mutual respect and understanding for all employees. Every employee has the right to work in an environment free from harassment and discrimination. No employees may be harassed or discriminated against because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, creed, sex or gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, association or political beliefs, language or record of offence as determined by the Ontario Human Rights Code.

Harassment, bullying, and discrimination in any form will not be tolerated on (YOUR COMPANY NAME) premises, at any company event or while conducting company business, for any reason whatsoever. We acknowledge our responsibility to support and assist persons subject to harassment and that appropriate action will be taken, whether such conduct is perpetrated by an employee, manager, contractor, client, or member of the public.

Included in this policy are various forms of harassment including, but not limited to: Sexual Harassment, Racial/Ethnic Harassment, Workplace Bullying, Discrimination & Discriminatory Harassment, and Poisoned Work Environment as outlined by the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

No employee will be subject to retaliation, intimidation or disciplinary action as a result of reporting a threat in good faith under this policy.

This policy applies to all employees, clients, contractors, suppliers, and the general public at (YOUR COMPANY NAME).

Workplace Harassment

Workplace harassment is defined in the Occupational Health and Safety Act as engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome. While (YOUR COMPANY NAME)’s Workplace Harassment and Respect in the Workplace Policy is not meant to stop free speech or to interfere with everyday social relations, harassment can be distinguished from normal, mutually acceptable socializing in that it can be offensive, insulting, intimidating, hurtful and/or malicious. It creates an uncomfortable work environment and has no place in employment relationships at our company.

Guiding Principles:

·  What one person finds offensive, others may not. Generally, harassment is considered to have taken place if the person knew, or ought to have known, that the behaviour is unwelcome.

·  For the purpose of this Policy, retaliation against someone for invoking this Policy, for participating and cooperating in any investigation under this Policy, or for associating with a person who invoked this Policy, will be treated as a form of workplace harassment in itself.

·  Our Policy applies to all our employees, Managers and contractors, clients and other visitors including suppliers and members of the general public, and extends to all company activities, including lunches and social gatherings (whether on or off-site).

·  It is both your responsibility and ours to keep each other informed of matters that infringe upon these rights. These matters must be brought to the attention of your Manager or another member of the Management team.

·  While harassment is usually based on an ongoing pattern of abuse, in some instances a single incident can be sufficiently serious to constitute harassment.

·  In the interests of being respectful and sensitive towards victims of workplace harassment, confidentiality will be maintained wherever possible. Exceptions will only be made where disclosure is necessary for the purposes of conducting a proper investigation or taking appropriate disciplinary and corrective measures, or where required by law or the principles of natural justice.

Workplace harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following types of conduct:

·  Workplace bullying

·  Sexual or racial harassment, or harassing someone based on any ground prohibited by human rights legislation

·  Discrimination based on prohibited grounds

While harassment of any form will not be tolerated, we have specific policies below dealing with five types of workplace harassment: (1) sexual harassment; (2) racial/ethnic; (3) bullying; (4) discriminatory harassment; and (5) poisoned work environment. The inclusion of specific policies must not, however, be taken to mean that we will ignore other forms of harassment. Rather, these five policies are included here because such conduct is regrettably still too common in today’s workplaces.

At (YOUR COMPANY NAME), we take all allegations of harassment in the workplace very seriously, regardless of the identity of the victim, the grounds for the harassment, or whether such harassment is perpetrated by a person’s Manager, co-worker, subordinate, or by a client, supplier, consultant, or member of the general public. As an employee, Manager or contractor at (YOUR COMPANY NAME), you have certain responsibilities in our workplace as detailed below, under the “What to Do in Cases of Harassment.”

We expect all of our employees, Managers and contractors to help us maintain a workplace free of harassment. Failure to do so will give rise to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. We will not discriminate or retaliate against an employee because he or she has been or is perceived to be a victim of workplace harassment.

Workplace Harassment Prevention Program

At (YOUR COMPANY NAME), we have taken specific measures to implement this Workplace Harassment Policy. These measures are referred to as our Workplace Harassment Prevention Program and include the following:

·  Implementing procedures for reporting incidents of workplace harassment.

·  Implementing procedures for investigating and dealing with alleged incidents of workplace harassment.

Reporting and investigation procedures are detailed in the policy below entitled “What to Do in Cases of Harassment.”

Workplace Harassment Awareness Training

(YOUR COMPANY NAME) requires all employees within 1 year of their date of hire or 1 year of this policy coming into effect, to undergo workplace harassment awareness training. In addition, from time to time we will conduct refresher sessions for all employees and may conduct sessions or provide referrals for one or more specific individuals where they require anti-harassment awareness training as part of a Performance Management Plan, or as identified through training needs analysis.

Sexual Harassment

At (YOUR COMPANY NAME), we are committed to providing our employees with a work environment free from sexual harassment. All our employees have the responsibility to conduct themselves accordingly. Like other forms of harassment in the workplace, sexual harassment is against the law. It is also against our policy which is to encourage respect and courtesy among us all. Also, such conduct creates a negative impact on work performance and creates an intimidating, hostile and/or offensive working environment. Examples of sexual harassment include, but are not limited to:

·  Gender-related comments about an individual’s physical attributes, mannerisms or characteristics.

·  Unwelcome physical contact such as patting, touching, pinching, petting, etc.

·  Suggestive or offensive remarks.

·  Unwelcome propositions of physical intimacy

·  Leering (e.g. a side glance expressive of malignity, amorousness or some unworthy feeling).

·  Bragging about sexual prowess.

·  Demands for dates or sexual favours; making promotions or perks contingent upon the granting of sexual favours.

·  Negative consequences (e.g. firing, demoting or assigning unpleasant work) as a result of spurned advances or a relationship gone sour.

·  Offensive jokes or comments of a sexual nature about an employee.

·  Displays of sexually offensive pictures.

·  Unwelcome questions or discussions about sexual activities.

·  Sexual assault (this is also considered to be a type of workplace violence).

·  Unwelcome language related to gender.

Both male and female employees can be victims of sexual harassment, which can be perpetrated by members of the opposite sex as well as those of the same sex. While incidents of sexual harassment are often characterized by an imbalance of power in the workplace, this is not necessarily always the case, with a harasser’s co-worker and even his or her manager sometimes being the victim.

Racial/Ethnic Harassment

According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, racial harassment is when someone bothers, threatens or treats another person unfairly because of his or her race, colour or ancestry. Such forms of harassment can also be connected with one’s place of origin, religion, citizenship or first language. Examples of racial or ethnic harassment include, but are not limited to:

·  Unwelcome remarks, jokes or innuendos about a person’s racial or ethnic origin, colour, place of birth, citizenship or ancestry.

·  Displaying racist or derogatory pictures or other offensive material.

·  Insulting gestures or practical jokes based on racial or ethnic grounds which create awkwardness or embarrassment.

·  Refusing to work with someone because of his or her racial or ethnic origin.

Workplace Bullying

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) defines workplace bullying as acts, physical contact or comments which have the effect of mentally hurting or isolating a person in a workplace. Like schoolyard bullying, workplace bullying usually consists of repeated incidents or a pattern of behaviour that is intended to intimidate, offend, belittle or humiliate a particular person or group of people. Many bullies attempt to assert some type of power over their victims through inappropriate aggression, and therefore may or may not be in a position of formal authority over their victims.

While there is a fine line between “strong management” and bullying, most reasonable and objective bystanders know bullying when they see it. Bullying can have many negative effects on the individual concerned, including stress, feelings of helplessness, fear, low productivity, physical illness and anxiety. It can also negatively impact an organization in terms of staff turnover and employee retention, and reduced morale and productivity. Therefore, (YOUR COMPANY NAME) does not tolerate workplace bullying in any form. Managers, employees and contractors who engage in such conduct will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. Workplace bullying (otherwise known as “psychological harassment”) includes, but is not limited to, the following types of conduct:

·  Character assassination; spreading rumours, gossip and innuendo, especially that which is malicious, hurtful and untrue.

·  Social isolation; ostracizing or ignoring an individual.

·  Violence, intimidation or threats of violence.

·  Deliberately undermining someone or stopping that person from completing his or her work.

·  Belittling an employee’s work or achievements or constantly taking credit for that person’s accomplishments; removing responsibilities and accountabilities without reason.

·  Constantly changing work requirements and/or standards.

·  Assigning unreasonable duties or workload to an employee; assigning demeaning and/or insulting work, etc.

Unless an individual has been unfairly singled out for especially harsh treatment, workplace bullying generally does NOT include situations such as the following:

·  Holding people accountable for their performance through the provision of routine coaching and feedback, fair and objective performance appraisals, performance improvement plan, or through appropriate and justifiable disciplinary action.

·  Providing fair and reasonable constructive feedback or evaluation of the work completed by a colleague or a direct report.

·  A Manager assigning additional work of a reasonable scope and quantity to his or her direct reports, or requesting an employee to work reasonable overtime hours when required.

·  Minor differences of opinion and/or the occasional workplace conflict which does not get out of hand.

·  Occasionally showing slight frustration or annoyance, where such behaviour is justified and displayed in a respectful manner with no threat of violence, intimidation or other reprisals.

Discrimination & Discriminatory Harassment

Workplace discrimination includes any distinction, exclusion, or preference based on the protected grounds: race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, creed, sex or gender, sexual orientation, age, record of offences, marital status, family status, physical or mental disability, association or political beliefs, language or record of offence as determined by the Ontario Human Rights Code, which negatively impacts equality of employment opportunity or equality of terms and conditions of employment.

Discriminatory harassment includes comments or conduct based on the protected grounds of the Ontario Human Rights Code, which the recipient does not welcome or that offends him or her. Some examples of discriminatory harassment are:

·  Offensive comments, jokes or behaviour that disparage or ridicule a person’s membership in one of the protected grounds, such as race, religion or sexual orientation

·  Imitating a person’s accent, speech or mannerisms

·  Persistent or inappropriate questions about whether a person is pregnant, has children or plans to have children; or

·  Inappropriate comments or jokes about an individual’s age, sexual orientation, personal appearance or weight (whether they are under or over-weight)

Poisoned Work Environment

Even if no one is being directly targeted, harassing comments or conduct can poison the work environment, making it a hostile or uncomfortable place in which to work; this is also a form of harassment. Some examples of actions that can create a poisoned work environment include:

·  Displaying offensive or sexual material such as posters, pictures, calendars, web sites or screen savers

·  Distributing offensive e-mail messages, or attachments such as pictures or video files

·  Practical jokes that embarrass or insult someone

·  Jokes or insults that are offensive, racial or discriminatory in nature

·  Foul language which offends under any of the protected grounds identified in the introduction

Employees are responsible for notifying (YOUR COMPANY NAME)’s Management team of any threats which they have witnessed, received, or have been told that another person has witnessed or received. Employees should report any behaviour they have witnessed which they regard as threatening or violent when that behaviour is job related or might be carried out on (YOUR COMPANY NAME) premises or in connection with (YOUR COMPANY NAME) employment.

WHAT TO DO IN CASES OF HARASSMENT

At (YOUR COMPANY NAME), we are committed to providing a workplace free from harassment in which everyone can expect to be treated with dignity and respect. Workplace harassment will not be tolerated for any reason; they are serious matters which will give rise to disciplinary actions, up to and including termination of employment. This includes harassment both at and away from the actual work site, as long as there is some connection with the work relationship. Instances of workplace harassment include those which occur during business travel, at off-site conferences and training, in the cafeteria/lunch room and at work-related social gatherings, etc.