​Workplace Violence & Harassment Health & Safety

Policy
The Huron Perth Sub-Region Accreditation Team (HPSRAT) is comprised of Alzheimer Society Huron, Alzheimer Society Perth, Clinton Family Health Team, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance, Knollcrest Lodge, North Perth Family Health Team and Ritz Lutheran Villa.

The Huron Perth Sub-Region Accreditation Team (HPSRAT) is committed to building and preserving safe, productive and healthy work environments for all our employees based on mutual respect. In pursuit of this goal, our organizations stand united against acts of violence, harassment, or bullying against or by any employee within or external to our organizations. Harassment and violence in any form are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The organizations of the HPSRAT are committed to facilitating the resolution of reported incidents of workplace violence and workplace harassment.

Each organization will ensure the relevant parties are involved in/consulted regarding the development of the Workplace Violence and Harassment policy (e.g. Occupational Health and Safety Committee, Health and Safety representative, Labour Relations staff etc.).

Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide employees with guidance and tools that address and help to eliminate the risk of violence and harassment in the workplace. This policy and resolution process do not apply to complaints from the general public or residents/clients/patients regarding service-specific issues. These types of complaints will be addressed by each organization’s specific processes.

Discrimination
The Ontario Human Rights Code provides protection from harassment and discrimination. The Code provides every person in the workplace the right to freedom from harassment that is related to their race, colour, ancestry, nationality, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family status, family affiliation, political belief, political association, social condition or pardoned criminal conviction.

Domestic Violence: In a situation where a person who has a personal relationship with a worker (e.g. spouse, former spouse, current or former intimate partner, or a family member) may physically harm, or attempt or threaten to physically harm that worker at work, domestic violence is considered workplace violence.

Racial/ethnic harassment: is any conduct or comment which causes humiliation to an employee because of their racial or ethnic background, colour, place of birth, citizenship or ancestry. Examples of conduct which may be racial or ethnic harassment include, but are not limited to:

• Unwelcome remarks, jokes, or innuendos about a person’s racial or ethnic origin; 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; and/or
• Refusing to speak to or work with someone or treating someone differently because of their ethnic or racial background.

Roles

• Complainant – The person who has made a complaint about another individual who they believe committed an act of violence, discrimination, or harassment against them.
• Respondent – The person whom another individual has accused of committing an act of violence, discrimination, or harassment.
• Supervisor – a person who has charge of a workplace or authority over a worker
• Worker – Also referred to as “employee” for the purpose of this policy; is a person who performs work or supplies services for monetary compensation. The definition extends to a secondary or post-secondary school student who performs work or supplies services for no monetary compensation under a work experience program authorized by their academic program.

Workplace: is defined as any location where any worker is carrying out any work- related function, appreciating that some environments are outside of the organization’s control (e.g. private residence or community location). In such environments, workers are to follow their organization’s applicable policies. Examples of possible “workplaces” include:

• Multi-site environment
• Organization-sponsored conference or training site Ø Worker-accompanied client transport
• Employment related social functions
• Telephone conversation
• Electronic communication (e.g. email or text)

Workplace Harassment – is defined as engaging in a course of vexatious comments or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.

Workplace harassment includes behaviour that is hostile in nature, or intends to degrade an individual based on personal attributes, including age, race, nationality, disability, family status, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or any other protected ground under human rights legislation.

Examples of workplace harassment include, but are not limited to:

• Verbal/emotional/psychological harassment: swearing, put-downs/name calling over a period of time, derogatory labels, acts of humiliation, extreme jealous behaviour, attacking the victim’s self-esteem.
• Workplace bullying: a repeated pattern of intentional inappropriate behaviour, direct or indirect, whether verbal, physical or otherwise, which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual’s right to dignity at work.
• Unwelcome remarks, jokes, insults, nicknames, innuendo, or taunting.
• Repeated offensive or intimidating phone calls or emails.
• Posters, notices, bulletins or electronic photos which may cause offence and encourage discrimination or create a hostile environment.
• Racial or ethnic slurs, and use of terminology that reinforces stereotypes based on prohibited grounds.
• Abuse of supervisory authority that endangers a person’s employment, work performance or interferes or negatively influences the person’s career. This includes misuses of power including intimidation, threats, blackmail and coercion.
• Public humiliation or degrading behavior to a subordinate or co-worker; swearing or yelling, at subordinate or co-worker in an aggressive manner.

Workplace harassment does not include:

• reasonable action or conduct by an employer or supervisor that is part of the normal job function even if there are unpleasant consequences for the worker, for example,
  • changes in work assignments or scheduling
  • job assessment and evaluation
  • workplace inspections
  • implementation of dress codes
  • disciplinary action
• differences of opinion or minor disagreements between co-workers which are handled respectfully Workplace

Sexual Harassment – is defined as:
(a) engaging in a course of vexatious comments or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or
(b) making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.

Examples of workplace sexual harassment include, but are not limited to:

• Sexual solicitation or advance made by a person in a position to confer, grant, or deny a benefit or advancement to the person, where the person making the solicitation or advance knows or ought reasonably to know that it is unwelcome.
• Reprisal or a threat of reprisal for the rejection of a sexual solicitation or advance where the reprisal is made or threatened by a person in a position to confer, grant, or deny a benefit or advancement to the person.
• Unwelcome remarks, jokes, innuendos, propositions, or taunting about a person’s body, attire, sex or sexual orientation, or religion;
• Suggestive or offensive remarks;
• Bragging about sexual prowess;
• Offensive jokes or comments of a sexual nature about an employee;
• Unwelcome language related to gender;
• Displaying of pornographic or sexist pictures or materials;
• Leering (suggestive persistent staring);
• Physical contact such as touching, patting, or pinching, with an underlying sexual connotation;
• Sexual assault:

Workplace Violence is defined as:

• The exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker
• An attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker
• A statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker

Categories of workplace violence include:

• The perpetrator who has no relationship to the workplace, i.e., burglary by stranger
•  The perpetrator who is a client or visitor or other third party affiliated with the organization who becomes violent towards a worker
• The perpetrator who is a current or former worker or other individual performing work at the workplace
• The perpetrator who has an intimate relationship with a worker e.g., domestic violence.

Examples of workplace violence include, but are not limited to:

• Physical acts (e.g., hitting, shoving, pushing, kicking, sexual assault, throwing an object at a worker, kicking an object the worker is standing on such as a ladder, or trying to run down a worker using a vehicle or equipment).
• Leaving threatening notes at, or sending threatening e-mails, to a workplace
• Any threatening behavior, gesture or action which is interpreted to carry the potential to harm or endanger the safety of others, result in an act of aggression, or destroy or damage property e.g. wielding a weapon at work, shaking a fist in a worker’s face
• Disruptive behaviour that is not appropriate to the work environment (e.g., yelling or swearing).
• May include verbal, written, electronic (e.g. social media) or graphic communication

Workplace violence does not require that the perpetrator have the capacity to appreciate that his or her actions could cause physical harm. For example:

• A person with a medical condition that causes them to act out physically in response to a stimulus in their environment, resulting in injury to a worker. This would be considered workplace violence.
• Situations where two non-workers (e.g. clients) are fighting and a worker could be injured when he or she intervenes. The non-worker may not intend their violence to affect anyone else, but their use of physical force could ultimately cause physical injury to a worker.

NOTE Workplace violence does not include a situation where a worker is accidentally hurt (e.g. a worker tripping over an object and then falling into or pushing another worker).