ESDC Harassment and Violence Notice of Occurrence Resolution Process

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ESDC Harassment and Violence Notice of Occurrence Resolution Process. Long description below
Long Description

ESDC Harassment and Violence Notice of Occurrence Resolution Process

The timeline for the process is one (1) year.

Notice

If the responding party is not the employer or an employee (i.e. if it is a visitor or client) then the complaint will not proceed under the resolution process. The complaint will be referred to the employer and workplace health and safety committee or health and safety representative to conduct a joint workplace assessmentFootnote 5.

Do you feel that you are experiencing or have experienced harassment and violence in your workplace?

Maybe:

Even if you are not sure it is harassment or violence, an issue may still exist in the workplace.

You have many options to consider:

  1. If you are able to, attempt to resolve the issue amicably directly with the concerned individual.
  2. Speak with a trusted supervisor.
  3. Book a confidential consultation with a Harassment and Violence Centre of Expertise (HVCE) advisor to help you explore the best avenues to address your concerns.
  4. Contact the Office of Informal Conflict Management (OICM).
  5. Seek support from your union representative.
  6. Contact the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
Yes:

If you feel that you are or have been a victim of harassment and violence in you workplace, you can provide, orally or in writing, a notice of an occurrence Footnote 1 to the employer or the designated recipientFootnote 6. A witness may provide the notice of an occurrence anonymously. All notices provided to the employer must be reported to the designated recipient.

After receiving the notice, the designated recipient must conduct an initial reviewFootnote 2 of the notice of occurrence.

If the notice of occurrence does not contain the name of the principal party or does not otherwise allows to determine their identity, the notice of occurrence is resolved.

If the notice of occurrence contains the name of the principal party or otherwise allows to determine their identity, within 7 days of receiving the notice of occurrence, the designated recipient must contact you to inform you:

  1. that your notice has been received or, depending on the situation, that you have been named or designated as the principal party in the notice provided by a witness;
  2. of the manner in which you can access ESDC's Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Policy (PDF, 1.6 MB);
  3. of each step of the resolution process; and
  4. that you may be represented (by a friend, family member, bargaining agent representative, etc.) during the resolution process.

Then, the negotiated resolution phase will begin no later than forty-five (45) days after receiving the notice of occurrence. You and the designated recipient (and the employer where applicable), must make every reasonable effort to resolve the occurrence. If you decide to involve the responding party at this point, the designated recipient will contact them.

During the discussions, if you and the designated recipient agree that the occurrence does not meet the definition of harassment and violenceFootnote 7, the notice of occurrence is resolved. Note that in these situations, the designated recipient can facilitate support to explore alternative solutions.

Otherwise, if you and the designated recipient agree that the occurrence does meet the definition of harassment and violence, the negotiated resolution phase continues. More precisely, you and the designated recipient will continue to make every reasonable effort to resolve the incident. Note that to proceed with conciliationFootnote 4 or/and the investigation, your name and the notice of occurrence will be shared with the responding party.

If the occurrence is resolved during the negotiated resolution phase, the notice of occurrence is resolved. If the incident is not resolved during the negotiated resolution phase, you and the responding party can attempt to resolve the occurrence through conciliation if you both agree on conciliation and on the person to facilitate it.

If the occurrence is resolved during conciliation, the notice of occurrence is resolved. If the occurrence is not resolved during conciliation, it will be the object of an investigation. An investigation of the notice of occurrence must be carried out if you request it.

Note that:

  1. Negotiated resolution, conciliation and investigation can run in parallel until investigator has provided their report
  2. The designated recipient must provide parties with monthly updates regarding the status of the resolution process.
  3. The principal party may end the resolution process at any time.
  4. If the principal party ends the process and the occurrence is not resolved, a review of the workplace assessment must be undertaken

If the notice of occurrence is the object of an investigation, the designated recipient will provide a notice that an investigation is to be carried out and must select an investigator from the list developed by ESDC's Policy Health and Safety Committee.

Once this is done, the designated recipient provides all relevant information to the investigator so that they can carry out the investigation. Prior to the investigation, the investigator provides a written statement to the parties stating that they are not in a conflict of interest regarding the occurrence.

The investigator provides a report which includes:

  1. a general description of the occurrence;
  2. their conclusions; and
  3. their recommendations to eliminate or minimize the risk of a similar occurrence.

The report must not reveal the identity of the persons involved in the occurrence or in the resolution process. The designated recipient provides the investigator's report to you, the responding party, the employer, and the workplace health and safety committee or representative.

The employer and the workplace health and safety committee or representative, jointly determine which of the recommendations set out in the report are to be implemented. Then, the employer implements recommendations. At this point, the notice of occurrence is resolved.

Definitions:

Return to footnote 4 referrer Conciliation:

An informal, confidential process where a neutral person (the conciliator) will help the parties find a satisfactory resolution. Conciliation of an occurrence of harassment and violence can only proceed if both the principal party and responding party agree to it and agree on who will facilitate conciliation.

Return to footnote 6 referrer Designated Recipient:

At ESDC, the Director General, Workplace Management Directorate (WPMD), Human Resources Services Branch (HRSB), with the Harassment and Violence Centre of Expertise (HVCE), under delegated authority, will act as the designated recipient.

Employer:
A person who employs one or more employees and includes an employers' organization and any person who acts on behalf of an employer. In the Harassment and Violence Notice of Occurrence Resolution Process, when the principal party or the responding party is the employer, the notice must be provided to the designated recipient.
Return to footnote 2 referrer Initial Review:

The purpose of the Initial Review is to determine whether the notice of occurrence contains the name of the principal party and the responding party (if known), the date of the occurrence, and a detailed description of the occurrence, and to eliminate any notices that do not contain the name of the principal party or otherwise allow the identity of the principal party to be determined.

Negotiated Resolution
A form of informal resolution in which the principal party meets (either virtually or in-person) with the designated recipient to discuss the occurrence, clarify the information that was submitted in the notice of an occurrence, make a joint determination as to whether the occurrence meets the definition of harassment and violence, and if it is the case, attempt to reach resolution.
Return to footnote 1 referrer Notice of Occurrence of Workplace Harassment and Violence:

A notice provided orally or in writing containing the following information: (a) the name of the principal party and the responding party, if known; (b) the date of the occurrence; and (c) a detailed description of the occurrence.

Principal Party:
An employee or employer who is the object of an occurrence. This person is the one who has concerns or feels they are the target or victim of the action, conduct or comment from another person.
Responding Party:
The person who is alleged to have been responsible for the occurrence in the notice of an occurrence provided. This person is the one who may have made the offending action, conduct or comment.
Witness:
A person who witnessed an occurrence or is informed of an occurrence by the principal party or responding party. In the Harassment and Violence Notice of Occurrence Resolution Process, a witness may provide notice of an occurrence anonymously.
Return to footnote 7 referrer Workplace Harassment and Violence:

Any action, conduct or comment, including of a sexual nature, that can reasonably be expected to cause offence, humiliation or other physical or psychological injury or illness to an employee, including any prescribed action, conduct or comment.

Workplace:
Any place where an employee is engaged in work for their employer. This is not limited to the building and facilities provided by their employer. An employee's workplace follows them wherever they are performing work for their employer. This can include public spaces, third-party premises, or the employee's residence if the employer has allowed them to work-from-home.
Return to footnote 5 referrer Workplace Assessment:

The identification of risk factors, internal and external to the workplace, that contribute to harassment and violence in the workplace, and the development and implementation of preventive measures.