Managing Workplace Violence: A Guide for Managers and Supervisors

Anytime you become aware of an incident of workplace violence, or alleged incident, the focus should always be on employee safety. As manager or supervisor you must immediately assess the situation and:

For serious incidents, such as physical assaults or direct threats:

• Notify security, and if necessary the police, in accordance with local emergency notification procedures; and

For minor incidents, (minor incidents being those which the manager or supervisor is comfortable resolving on their own and it is safe to do so):

• Attempt any immediate means to resolve the issue with the employee(s).

For incidents where there are no immediate means of resolution, you must objectively analyze the circumstances of the incident and determine whether or not they satisfy the definition of workplace violence found in section 20.2 of the COHSR. The process that is laid out in Part XX of the COHSR should not be used to resolve Incidents that do not satisfy this definition of workplace violence. This does not mean that there should not be an attempt to resolve such incidents. Incidents involving factors that contribute to violence, including but not limited to, bullying, teasing, harassment, and abusive or other aggressive behaviour must be dealt with through an appropriate alternate recourse mechanism to ensure they do not lead to workplace violence in the future.

Incidents That Do Not Meet the Definition of Workplace Violence

Attempt to resolve the incident as soon as it is safe to do so:

1. Gather information from the parties and witnesses regarding the incident, and in doing so, keep detailed notes of this process;
2. Seek advice and guidance from subject matter experts (including the ROHSA, RSO, Labour Relations Advisor and Informal Conflict Management Advisor); and
3. Request support/assistance from the Office of Informal Conflict Management (OICM), if appropriate.

External Incidents of Workplace Violence

1. Ensure the safety of employees and yourself;
2. Follow local workplace emergency notification procedures. Police and security must be immediately notified by management of any serious incidents of workplace violence committed by persons external to the department;
3. Support security in their investigation of the incident, separate from any police investigation. The focus of this investigation is to identify any preventive measures in place and evaluate their effectiveness in order to help prevent future incidents of violence;
4. Complete required reports and submit them without delay:
   1. Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report (LAB1070) (PDF, 180 KB) (opens new window) form must be submitted to the Regional Occupational Health and Safety Advisor (ROHSA); and
   2.  Security Incident Report Webform (opens new window)
5. Provide a copy of the LAB1070 form as well as any relevant information gathered during the investigation to the Workplace Health and Safety Committee (WHSC) or the Health and Safety Representative (HSR). Any documents you provide must only contain information whose disclosure is not prohibited by law and that would not reveal the identity of persons involved without their consent. Documents must be reviewed by the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division to ensure that no information is inappropriately disclosed; and
6. With the assistance of the WHSC or HSR, develop and implement any additional preventive measures needed to ensure similar incidents of workplace violence do not occur in the future.

Internal Incidents of Workplace Violence

1. Ensure the safety of all employees and yourself;
2. Report serious incidents of workplace violence, such as physical assaults or direct threats, to police and security in accordance with local workplace emergency notification procedures;
3. Examine the situation and try to resolve it with the employee as soon as possible. To “resolve” an incident means to bring about changes (i.e. preventive measures) that will ensure similar incidents do not occur in the future.
4. Complete required reports and submit them without delay:
   1. Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report (LAB1070) – submitted to the Regional Occupational Health and Safety Advisor (ROHSA); and
   2.  Security Incident Report Webform (opens new window).
5. If you are unable to resolve the incident you should consult the delegated manager. The delegated manager is designated by the employee’s Director General or Executive Director. The delegated manager will:
   • Review the incident and the efforts made to resolve it;
   • Seek advice and guidance from subject matter experts;
   • Identify any immediate avenues of resolution; and
   • Recommend appropriate action to the manager.
6. If the delegated manager is unable to resolve the incident, ensure that a competent person is appointed. This may take the form of an Administrative Investigation by Security.

Investigation by a Competent Person

All unresolved incidents of internal workplace violence must be investigated by a competent person using the procedure below. The delegated manager will advise the parties involved of the steps in the investigation process and work with the ROHSA to ensure a consistent approach to all incidents.

Investigation Procedure

Step 1 – Selection of the Competent Person

The delegated manager, in consultation with the ROHSA, and if warranted, the WHSC co-chairs or HSR, will select a competent person to investigate the allegations of workplace violence, in accordance with Selection of a Competent Person for Investigating Incidents of Workplace Violence. The delegated manager, ROHSA, and competent person should discuss and develop an investigation plan before any investigation begins.

Step 2 – Investigation

As part of the entire investigation process, the competent person, will:

• Develop questions to use during the interview process;
• Interview the parties and witnesses;
• Prepare detailed notes from interviews, and validate with all parties;
• Prepare and deliver a final investigation report to the delegated manager; and
• Arrange conference calls with departmental representatives (e.g., delegated manager, ROHSA) to discuss the final investigation report and findings to provide clarification where necessary.

Throughout the investigation process, the competent person will consider the terms of their mandate, focus on the facts of the incident, and refer to the Canada Labour Code, Part II, the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations and the Workplace Violence Prevention Policy (PDF, 646 KB).

Step 3 – Final Report

When preparing the final report, the competent person must:

• Review the incident of workplace violence
• Comment on any underlying factor(s) encountered during the course of the investigation that may have contributed to the situation or that may have had a negative effect on the work environment;
• Evaluate the adequacy of preventive measures enacted by the employer; and
• Recommend any additional preventive measures that they feel are necessary to ensure similar incidents of workplace violence do not occur in the future.

The final report, which includes the competent person’s findings and conclusions, will then be submitted to the delegated manager.

The competent person will provide a final investigation report that includes:

• An executive summary;
• A statement detailing the workplace violence;
• A description of the investigation process followed;
• A review of the adequacy of preventive measures enacted by the employer; and
• Recommendations as to how future incidents of this type could be avoided, and other preventive measures.

Step 4 – Closure

In order to finalize an investigation, the delegated manager will:

• Inform the parties of the decision in writing. The decision will include reasons and will address the parties raising the issue; 
• Provide the parties with a copy of the final redacted investigation report, accompanied by the decision letter. A redacted investigation report it has been reviewed by ATIP before being shared with the parties;
• Provide the WHSC or HSR with a copy of the final redacted investigation report, which contains information whose disclosure is not prohibited by law and that would not reveal the identity of persons involved without their consent;
• Inform the parties’ managers and provide them with a copy of the final redacted investigation report; and
• Consult with the ROHSA and the WHSC or HSR as necessary, in order to develop and implement any preventive measures needed to ensure similar incidents of workplace violence do not occur in the future.

The manager of the party who raised the issue is responsible for:

• Updating both a Hazardous Occurrence Investigation Report (LAB1070) (PDF, 180 KB) (opens new window) and the Security Incident Report Webform (opens new window). The manager will ensure that no other identifying information is included on the LAB1070. The manager will attach the competent person’s report, redacted by ATIP, in lieu of the investigation section, section 6, of the LAB1070;
• Submitting the LAB1070 to the WHSC or HSR;
• Sending electronically any reports, including the competent person’s report and the LAB1070, to the ROHSA, to be retained for 10 years and;
• Submitting to Regional Security the ADM3061 Security Incident Report, with a notation that a LAB1070 has been sent to the ROHSA and the WHSC or HSR; and
• Retain a copy of the final investigation report as per established record maintenance requirements.

This will constitute the end of the investigation process.