If you’ve decided to report sexual harassment to your employer, this guide is for you. Here’s everything you need to know.

We’ll start with some background.

What are the laws that protect workers in the Northwest Territories, and what do they require from employers?

In the Northwest Territories, there are three laws that offer you protection from sexual harassment at work.

The Northwest Territories Safety Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations are all about safety in workplaces. They are the laws in the Northwest Territories that protect workers from all sorts of hazards at work, including violence and harassment. Under the OHSR, your employer is required to have a policy saying how they prevent, deal with, and investigate sexual harassment and workplace violence.

The Northwest Territories Human Rights Act says that sexual harassment is against the law. It protects people from discrimination and harassment based on specific grounds, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Under the act, your employer is required to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Safety Act, the OHSR and the Northwest Territories Human Rights Act work together to protect you from sexual harassment.

Your employer has responsibilities under all of these laws.

Do the Safety Act and the OHSR apply in your situation?

The OHSR relates to the actions and behaviour of people in your workplace, including your boss, co-workers, contractors, customers, and clients.

The OHSR covers most workers. That includes:

  • employees who aren’t federally regulated workers
  • anyone who gets paid for providing services, including independent contractors
  • people who aren’t paid, but are part of a work placement program (like a co-op job, job shadowing, a research project, fieldwork, or an internship)
  • volunteers

Who in the Northwest Territories is not covered by the Safety Act and the OHSR?

The Safety Act and the OHSR don’t apply to federally regulated workplaces such as post offices, banks, radio and TV operations, and airlines and airports. People in those industries are protected by the Canada Labour Code.

The OHSR do not apply to work in mines or to workers involved in the exploration, production, and conservation of oil and gas resources.

Do the Safety Act and OHSR cover sexual harassment related to your work that’s happening outside the workplace?

Yes! Employers are responsible for protecting you against workplace sexual harassment even if it happens outside of the workplace.

If you’re sexually harassed at a work event, while you’re working at home or online, while you’re travelling for your job, or even if a co-worker harasses you in a social setting outside of work hours, your employer is responsible for taking steps to ensure your safety. If the harassment happens after work hours and is not clearly related to your job, your employer may not have any obligations unless they have a workplace policy dealing with after-work behaviours.

What do the Safety Act and the OHSR require from an employer?

The Safety Act and the OHSR require employers to prevent workplace harassment. If someone makes a complaint, the Safety Act and the OHSR require employers to address the harassment. This may or may not involve an investigation. Some employers may allow for an informal resolution, which does not involve an investigation.

The OHSR requires all workplaces to have a written workplace policy that addresses harassment. The workplace policy says how your employer will prevent or reduce the risk of workplace harassment and violence. It also says how complaints can be made and how the employer will investigate complaints. This policy is required no matter the size of the workplace.

The workplace harassment policy is supposed to describe:

  • a definition of harassment that is consistent with the OHSR
  • how harassment complaints can be made
  • how your employer won’t share your name or the name of the harasser, or the details of your complaint, unless it’s necessary to complete an investigation or required by the law
  • how your employer will inform you of the results of an investigation

See the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Harassment Codes of Practice to read what else should be in a policy (page 14) and to see a sample workplace sexual harassment policy (page 24).

A program is the more detailed plan of how the policy is put into practice. If you work in a place with 20 workers or more, your employer is also supposed to create and maintain an occupational health and safety program. Your employer may also be required to provide an occupational health and safety program if they have been directed to do so by the chief safety officer. 

An employer is required to develop a written policy on violence in a workplace where violence has occurred in the past or could reasonably be expected to occur. Work sites this applies to are listed in the OHSR.

Harassment and violence policies must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised at least once every three years or whenever there is a change that could affect the health or safety of workers.

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

The first thing you should do is try to get a copy of your workplace sexual harassment policy. It will tell you how you’re supposed to report, and what’s supposed to happen once you do.

  • It may tell you to try talking directly with the harasser first.
  • It may name people or positions you’re supposed to report to.
  • It may give a deadline for how quickly you need to report.

Don’t worry too much about following the exact procedures. As long as you go to a person in a position of authority and tell them you are formally reporting sexual harassment, that should be enough to get started.

It’s pretty common for employers to handle reports badly. You might report to someone, and they might think you’re just venting or asking for advice. So it’s important to say as clearly as possible that you are making a formal report of sexual harassment. It’s also pretty common for people to not know what they’re supposed to do next. So if nothing seems to happen after you report, you might want to follow up to make sure someone is taking action.

Important

Some people think that HR is supposed to be on their side. That’s not really true. A good HR person will want the workplace to be safe and will know they have a responsibility to act on your complaint. But their responsibility is really to your employer, not to you. They should help you, but they are not your friend or advocate.

You may feel like you are causing a problem for your employer by reporting. But that’s not really what’s happening. When you report sexual harassment, you are bringing a problem to your employer’s attention. You didn’t create it; you’re just reporting it.

It might help to think about it the same way you’d think about reporting a gas leak or a piece of broken equipment. It’s a safety issue.

How to report

Once you’ve picked whom you’re going to report to, make an appointment with them. Try not to just drop by: it’s better if you have their full attention. If you don’t know what to say when you make the appointment, you can just tell them you want to talk about a workplace problem.

You should report verbally and, ideally, face-to-face, not just in writing. Bring something you’ve written and leave it with them. This can be helpful if you’re worried there are things you may forget to say, or if you think they may mishear or misunderstand you. If you have records, like emails or texts from your harasser that support your complaint, you should bring copies with you. This can help ensure that your complaint is taken seriously.

What happens after you report

After you report, your supervisor should assign someone to investigate.

  • The investigator can be someone from within the workplace or outside it.
  • They are supposed to be objective: not on your side, or the harasser’s side.
  • They are supposed to follow the employer’s workplace harassment policy.
  • They are supposed to understand the OHSR.

There may or may not be a deadline for the completion of the investigation. This will depend on where you work. 

If the investigation costs any money (like, for a translator if you need one), your employer is supposed to pay for it. You should not have to pay any costs related to the investigation.

The investigator’s job is to decide whether what happened to you qualifies as sexual harassment under the OHSR definition. To do that, they will talk with you, the person who harassed you, and anybody who witnessed it.

Important

To do their work, the investigator needs to ask the harasser about what they did. That means the harasser will know you reported them.

The investigator should keep you informed about the timing and progress of their investigation, but they usually won’t tell you details. You won’t be allowed to be there when other people are interviewed, and you won’t be able to see notes or transcripts from the interviews. Depending on where you work, you may be entitled to a support person during your interview. This person can accompany you but not participate actively in the interview.

How to prepare to be interviewed

The investigator should invite you to a meeting, where they will ask you to tell your story. They will ask for details (what happened, where, when, etc.), whether there were witnesses, and if you have any documents or other evidence. They may also ask how the harasser has behaved to you since then.

There may be other people there. If your workplace has a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee, its worker representative will be there. If there is a health and safety rep, they will be there. There may be someone there solely to take notes.

Tip

People at the meeting may behave formally and seriously, even if they know you from outside the investigation. You may feel like that means they are mad at you or don’t believe you. But that’s not necessarily the case. They may just be trying to be respectful.

It’s rare for an investigator to be challenging or aggressive. Normally they are just trying to gather information and make sure they understand what you’re saying. It’s normal for them to ask you a lot of questions and write down everything you say.

Here are steps you can take to prepare for the meeting:

  • If there’s anything about the meeting that doesn’t work for you—for example, its location or timing—you can ask for an alternative. You can also ask to bring a support person with you. If you require accommodations at the meeting—for example, a translator—you should ask for them.
  • If you haven’t already, you should write down all the important events in the order they happened. Try to include as much detail as possible, including dates, times, names of people who were present, what was said or done, and where it happened. Bring a copy of this document with you to the meeting.
  • Collect copies or printouts of any documents related to the harassment. This might include printouts of emails, screenshots of text messages, your phone call log, or anything else you think is relevant. See Document everything.

How to handle yourself during the interview

  • Remember that you haven’t done anything wrong, and you are not on trial.
  • You can take your time when answering questions. If you’re not sure you understand a question, ask for it to be repeated or rephrased.
  • It is always okay for you to ask for a short break.
  • It is okay for you to take notes.
  • It’s totally fine for you to ask about the investigator’s process and timeline.
  • It’s totally fine for you to tell the investigator about any concerns you have.
  • It’s a good idea to tell the investigator if you’re worried about confidentiality, especially if you are afraid the harasser will get other people to gang up on you for reporting them.

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

This is really common. Roughly 50% of sexual harassment reports get ignored. If that happens to you, you can:

  • Contact your union, if you have one.
  • Contact your workplace health and safety rep.

What if the investigation is taking a really long time, or I am not getting any updates?

You can contact your union or workplace health and safety rep.

What if people at work are gossiping about me and the investigation?

This isn’t supposed to happen. Investigators are only allowed to share information about the investigation if it will help them do their work, protect other workers, or if the law says it must be shared. (For example, if criminal charges have been laid, the investigator might have to share information with the police.) The investigator is supposed to instruct anyone involved with the investigation to not talk about it.

But it’s actually very common for people to gossip about the investigation. And sometimes it can be really bad. Sometimes, other people decide to support the harasser, and start treating you badly.

If that happens, you should tell your employer. They are supposed to protect you against any harassment that might happen as a result of your report.

What if I get punished for reporting?

Getting punished for reporting is extremely common. About a third of people who report say that in the end they got punished. So, yeah, if you think it’s happening to you, it probably is. We’re really sorry.

What happens is people end up sympathizing with the harasser and blaming you for reporting them. They decide you’re a troublemaker, or a problem, or a drama queen. That makes them like you less, and so they start treating you badly. They might schedule you for fewer shifts, stop helping you with your work, or decide to not recommend you for a promotion or raise or other opportunity.

These are called reprisals, and they’re so common and so awful, we wrote an entire guide about them: Getting punished for complaining and how to protect yourself. Please read it. We want you to be able to protect yourself.

What happens once the investigation is over

Once the investigation is complete, the investigator will prepare a report summarizing the evidence, conflicts, conclusions, and recommendations. This may include corrective actions like firing, transferring, suspending, or reprimanding the harasser. Workplace adjustments, such as schedule changes or policy updates, may also be suggested.

Employers should provide a written summary of the results within 10 days. If harassment occurred, they must take corrective action and inform both parties. However, they are not required to follow recommendations or disclose punishments.

Your employer may choose to resolve issues with you in other ways. They may agree to make changes in your working situation—only if you agree; otherwise, that could be a reprisal. They may ask you to participate in alternative dispute resolution or negotiate with you to give you some compensation in exchange for your not taking legal action. Usually, if you make this kind of agreement, the employer also makes you agree to not talk publicly by signing a non-disclosure agreement about any of the details of the incident and the settlement.

What to do if you’re not happy with the outcome

If your employer chooses to do nothing about the harassment, they aren’t meeting their duties under the OHSR, the Safety Act and the Human Rights Act. Here are some things you might do. First, though, consider consulting a lawyer.