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The four types of high-harassment workplaces

Researchers have found there are four types of work environments where sexual and gender-based harassment is most common.

Workplaces where most of the workers are men

These are sometimes called “majority-male” workplaces or “male-dominant” workplaces. And there are a lot of them, especially in industries like science and technology, construction and the trades, transportation and warehousing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, fisheries and forestry, and policing and the military. In these workplaces, the harassment is most likely to be what experts call “hostility based.” That means that some people think you don’t belong in their workplace or industry and are harassing you to force you out.

Workplaces where most of the clients or customers are men

This is true in much of the hospitality industry (bartending, serving, hosting). It’s true for sex work. It’s true for some kinds of health-care and personal support work (PSW, nanny, cleaner, personal assistant), and for many jobs in sales, consulting, and business services. In this kind of work, the harassment is most likely to be what experts call “desire based,” which means that some people feel like it’s okay for them to behave in sexual ways with you, even if you don’t want them to.

Workplaces where most people are white (if you’re not)

For racialized people, it can be hard to know whether you’re being harassed for reasons related to your sex or gender, or because of your race. Often it’s both. If you’re racialized, a majority-white workplace could be a high-harassment environment for you. This kind of harassment can be either hostility based or desire based, or a mix of both.

Workplaces where most people aren’t queer (if you are)

If you’re queer, a high-harassment environment for you is any workplace where queer people make up just a tiny minority, or don’t seem present at all. This is especially true for you if you’re trans, and/or if people perceive you as anything other than male. This kind of harassment is usually hostility based. Some people are offended by your presence (or even your existence), and so they want to force you out, or force you to behave in a way they approve of.

What leads people to change their careers

If you’re being harassed at a workplace like the ones described above, and you’re trying to decide whether to change your whole career as a result, the first thing you need to know is that you’re not alone. What you’re experiencing is very, very common.

It’s pretty simple.

If someone’s getting harassed at work and can’t find a way to make it stop, they will usually consider quitting their job. If they think they’re just as likely to be harassed at their next job, that’s when people start considering a bigger change.

They want to be able to relax at work, rather than needing to always be on guard and suspicious.
They want to be physically and emotionally safe.
They want to be able to focus on their work, instead of being distracted by harassment.
They want to be around people they like and can be friendly with—or at least, to avoid people who are hostile or predatory.
They want to be treated with a basic level of respect.
They want their work to be judged on the basis of their actual performance.
They want normal opportunities to advance at work. To be praised, promoted, and make more money.
They want to be able to be themselves at work, rather than needing to hide or change parts of themselves to avoid harassment.

Here are some real-life stories of people who changed their careers to get away from harassment. Some of them we talked with ourselves, and some are from books or news articles. A lot of examples:

A female software engineer was sexually harassed for more than 10 years while working at big tech companies. She quit the industry and went to work in the non-profit sector.
A female welder was harassed on her first day on the job, and every day after that. After two years she quit, and now she makes glass art.
A nonbinary person held a bunch of different jobs for about a decade and was harassed at all of them. Today, they are self-employed and working alone, doing bicycle repair.
After she transitioned, an auditor at a big accounting firm started getting harassed a lot by her co-workers. She quit and took a job bookkeeping at a hotel with a largely-queer clientele.
A First Nation woman became a city councillor and then resigned because the job exposed her to so much racism and sexism. Today she’s an Indigenous advocate and artist.

How to decide if changing your career is right for you

It’s actually a pretty simple trade-off.

The research says that people who change their career to get out of high-harassment environments end up happier but poorer. It’s that simple.

They’re happier because they feel like they can be themselves at work, and they end up working with people they like a lot better than their previous co-workers.
They’re poorer because they often go through a period of being unemployed or underemployed, because sometimes they need to spend money to retrain for their new career, and because their new career pays less. (We explain more about that a little further down in this article.)

So it’s a pretty simple question. Can you afford to make less money in exchange for more happiness?

(Okay, it’s not actually 100% that simple. If you’re working in a low-paid job right now, it’s definitely possible to go back to school and get training and end up making more money in the end. That absolutely happens; it’s not even uncommon. But if you want more money and less harassment, that isn’t always easy to get.)

How to get started changing your career

The first and most important thing you need to know is don’t wait too long.

If you think you might want to change your career, get started early. It’s going to take a lot of planning and a lot of effort, and meanwhile every day you spend in a harassment-heavy industry is going to cost you—emotionally, and maybe even physically.

So you are going to want to start now.

Here are some things to think about:

Trust your own instincts

We want to encourage you to trust your own instincts. If you think it’s right to leave, you are correct. We’re saying this because other people—your friends, your family, professional contacts—may encourage you to stay. If they do, you can ignore them. They’re not in your shoes and they don’t know what you’re experiencing. We urge you to trust yourself. You are the expert on you.

High-harassment industries pay more than low-harassment ones.

This is an important piece of information that a lot of people don’t know. Economists call it a wage premium, and it’s why practically everyone who switches their career to get away from harassment ends up making less money. If you’re considering a change, you need to know this. You should try to save as much money as much as you can now, before you quit. It’s also a good idea to start cutting back your expenses.

Consider independent contractor or consultant work

This is something a lot of people do. But researchers say that, for many people, this turns out to just be a stage that they pass through. Most people, five or so years later, are doing something completely different than what they were doing when they first got harassed.

Unemployment or underemployment is normal

A lot of people, once they quit a high-harassment industry, stumble around for a while before they figure out what they really want to do. It’s normal for people to be unemployed or underemployed for a year or two, or even more. This could easily happen to you. It’s another argument for saving money and doing a lot of planning before you quit.

High-harassment industries have higher status

Here’s an uncomfortable truth: The kinds of careers in which you’re likely to be harassed have higher status than harassment-free environments. Ugh, but it’s true. You might want to think about how much you—and your family and friends—care about status. If you care a lot, that might make your decisions harder.

Wanting to work alone is common

When people leave a high-harassment environment, it’s normal for them to go through a period where they don’t want to work with other people at all. Wanting to work alone, experts say, is a pretty common part of the healing process, and will probably naturally come to an end. If you find yourself wanting to work alone for a while, that’s normal, and it’s nothing to worry about.

Retraining is worth considering

Lots of people end up retraining for a new field. It’s worth thinking about whether you want to go back to school. Is there a particular field that’s always interested you? If you got some new skills, would that qualify you for work you might enjoy? You might feel like you’re too old to go back to school, or it would be too expensive. But if it puts you in a position where you’ll enjoy your work more, it’s definitely worth considering.

You might be happiest working with people like you

Researchers say that the people who end up healthiest and happiest after a career change are often those who move into an industry or field where they can work with people more like themselves. (Like, a trans woman working with other trans people, or a First Nation woman working with other Indigenous people.) If this is something you’re considering, it’s a really good idea to start building your network of people like you. Find out where they work and what they do. Ask if they like it. Ask how they got into it. Ask if there are any job openings.

Canada has a lot of laws aiming at protecting people who experience workplace sexual harassment. To know which ones apply to you, you need to know whether you are a provincially regulated worker or a federally regulated worker.

The vast majority of workers in Canada—about 93%—are covered under provincial laws. Those people are protected by the employment laws and human rights laws of the province or territory where they work. Most people are provincially regulated because everybody is provincially regulated by default, unless their industry has been officially designated as federal.

About 7% of Canadians work in federally regulated industries. Those people are protected by the Canada Labour Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act. Some people think that the Canada Labour Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act cover everybody in the country, but that’s not true. They only cover people who work in federally regulated industries.

What are the federally regulated industries?

There are two categories of workplaces that are federally regulated—the private and public sectors.

Federally regulated private sectors are:

banks, including authorized foreign banks
airports, air transportation (for example, Air Canada, WestJet)
interprovincial/international transportation (for example, railways, trucking companies, marine shipping, interprovincial buses)
fisheries
telephone, cable systems, and telegraph companies
television and radio broadcasting
uranium mining and processing
grain elevators
First Nation band councils (including certain community services on reserves)
Crown corporations (for example, Canada Post, Royal Canadian Mint)
private-sector firms and municipalities in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut

Federally regulated public sectors are:

the federal public service
Parliament (Senate, House of Commons)

If you work in one of these sectors, you’re most likely a federally regulated worker. If you’re not sure, you can contact the federal Labour Program.

What legislation applies to federally regulated workers?

The Canada Labour Code

The Canada Labour Code covers all federally regulated workplaces. It sets out federal labour laws, and defines the rights and responsibilities of workers and employers in federally regulated workplaces. Federal workplace laws apply to all employers and workplaces that are the responsibility of the federal government.

Part II of the Canada Labour Code, Occupational Health and Safety, talks about harassment and violence in the workplace. The code defines workplace harassment and violence as “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.”

This definition includes sexual harassment, sexual violence, and domestic violence in the workplace.

The Canadian Human Rights Act

The Canadian Human Rights Act protects people who are employed or getting services in workplaces under federal power from discrimination. These workplaces are:

the federal government
First Nations governments
Federally regulated private sectors

Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, it’s against the law for a federal service provider or employer to discriminate on the grounds of:

race
national or ethnic origin
colour
religion
age
sex
sexual orientation
gender identity or expression
marital status
family status
genetic characteristics
disability
having been pardoned of a criminal conviction

We can’t say this enough. Seriously, we can’t.

You need to build a support network to help you get through this.

When people look back years later, they all say the same thing: their support network was the thing that helped them the most.

Talk with people you can trust to listen and support you

Why?

It will help you emotionally process what’s happening. Sexual harassment can seriously mess you up. It helps to talk with other people.

But here’s something that may surprise you. Experts say the best people to talk with aren’t necessarily the ones you’re closest with.

What you’re looking for is someone to listen to you and sympathize with you. Sometimes, the people you’re closest to can’t do that. They might get mad or be overprotective. They might tell you what to do, or insist they’re going to do something. They might have strong opinions, and they might be wrong.

Experts say it’s best to talk with people who will listen sympathetically and let you make your own decisions.

Don’t talk with people at work (at least, not right away)

Why not?

People at your work can be an important source of solidarity and information. They can also act as witnesses, if you end up reporting.

But experts say it makes sense to wait a little before talking with your co-workers.

There are a couple of reasons why:

If you tell someone at work what’s happening to you, they might report it and trigger a formal investigation. Even a co-worker could do that. If you’re not sure you want an investigation, it makes sense to avoid triggering one by accident.
They may tell other people. That can lead to you being gossiped about and judged. You could end up getting labelled as “a problem” or “difficult to work with.”
They may side with the harasser and believe that you are misunderstanding or exaggerating what’s happening. Experts say that, before you risk talking with people who might react badly, it’s better to first spend some time thinking and talking with people you know will be sympathetic.

Find additional sources for support, even if your family and friends are pretty solid

You might be surprised to hear that experts say it’s a good idea to call a domestic violence hotline or a rape hotline or a mental health crisis line.

That may seem like a strange suggestion, because what you’re experiencing isn’t domestic violence or rape, and you may not feel like you’re in crisis. You may feel like reaching out to that kind of support is overkill, and you’d be taking up services from people who need them more than you do.

But the experts say it’s a good idea anyway. They say it makes sense for you to reach out to people who have been specially trained to provide support. To listen without judgment, to not gaslight or disbelieve you, and to connect you with other resources that might help.

Or, you could find somewhere online to talk with people.

There are lots of websites and online communities where people talk about their experiences of sexual harassment and get support from one another. For example, there are some pretty good forums on Reddit, like the sexual harassment subreddit, the subreddit offering support for survivors of sexual assault, and the rape subreddit. Just be aware that most people on Reddit are Americans, and so any legal or HR advice they give you might not be true for Canada.

Why should you seek out support from these places? Experts say that, if you look for advice and support only from your family and friends, that won’t necessarily go well for you. They can feel helpless and overwhelmed, and that can end up straining your relationship and adding more stress to your life.

It’s better, experts say, to get advice and support from people who are voluntarily offering it, and especially from people who have personal experience or professional expertise. That’s what will help you the most.

If you’re a federally regulated worker and you’re injured or become ill because of something that happened at work, you fall under the Government Employees Compensation Act.

How workers comp works if you’re a federally regulated worker

Applying for workers comp for federally regulated workers is a two-step process. Rather than having its own system, the government uses provincial workers compensation agencies—for example, in Ontario, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board—to provide services for its workers. So you first make your claim through the Labour Program’s Federal Workers’ Compensation Service at Employment and Social Development Canada. The ESDC office then sends your claim to the appropriate provincial authority.

Only some provinces and territories accept claims for harm to mental health due to harassment or bullying.

Find out how to apply for workers comp in your province or territory.

[Whistleblowing is] the reporting by employees and former employees of illegal, unethical, and otherwise inappropriate conduct to someone who has the power to take corrective action.
Terance D. Miethe, Whistleblowing at Work: Tough Choices in Exposing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse on the Job, Avalon Publishing, 1999.

For it to count as whistleblowing, you need to be going outside of your own chain of command. If you tell your boss or HR, that’s not whistleblowing; that’s just reporting.

To count as whistleblowing, you need to be blowing the whistle to somebody outside your own organization. That means telling your story publicly, by talking on social media or with a journalist, or reporting it to a body that oversees your employer, like a board of directors or a regulator or industry association.

To count as whistleblowing, experts say the whistleblower needs to be trying to prevent harm to other people, not just themselves. Usually with whistleblowing that harm is environmental or health related (like, if a company is releasing poisons into the air or water), financial (like, if a bank is overcharging customers), and/or legal (like, if a government is spying on its own citizens).

Some experts believe that reporting harassment doesn’t count as whistleblowing, because they think people report harassment to prevent harm to themselves, not others. We disagree. Practically everybody who reports harassment is motivated at least in part by wanting to prevent other people from being harassed. And so we believe that reporting harassment counts as whistleblowing.

Why people blow the whistle on sexual harassment

People who blow the whistle are usually motivated by a mix of moral outrage and a desire to protect others. Here are the kinds of things whistleblowers tend to be thinking when they blow the whistle:

Something bad is happening.
People are getting hurt.
The people who are supposed to fix the problem aren’t living up to their responsibilities.
What’s happening is being hidden or covered up.
It has been going on for too long and it needs to stop.
The public deserves to know the truth and people need to be held accountable.
I cannot stand to be associated with this.
I cannot live with myself if I am silent about this.

Here are some quotes from real people who blew the whistle, talking about why they did it.

This is far too rampant and I’m fucking tired of it. This wasn’t just about me, it was about everyone in the industry who faces this regularly.
In 2017, a bartender and social media manager at the Needle Vinyl Tavern in Edmonton quit her job and made a Facebook post complaining that one of the bar’s co-owners had sexually harassed her.

My fight was never about just me. My main goal was to make positive changes in the workplace so this would not happen to others.
In 2019, a former corrections officer complained to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, saying he had endured years of harassment by his co-workers at the Manitoba Youth Centre because he is gay.

My intention all along was to speak out against harassment for my own protection, to make the workplace better and safer.
In 2007, a former firefighter complained to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, saying she had endured years of abusive and demeaning treatment from her co-workers because she is a woman.

I want to make sure that by standing up for myself, I may be standing up for those who may be gay or trans or lesbian or bisexual in our community who feel they don’t have a voice or who feel that they are oppressed and can’t speak up.
In 2019, an executive member of the New Waterford Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Legion filed a complaint with the legion and the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, saying he was the subject of taunts and homophobic slurs because he is gay.

What happens to people who blow the whistle

“To run up against the organization,” C. Fred Alford writes in his book about whistleblowers, “is to risk obliteration.”

Here’s what experts say happens to whistleblowers:

It’s very common for them to get fired.
If they don’t get fired, they get sidelined and shut out at work.
Their co-workers turn against them.
They are often blacklisted out of their industry.
Their involvement can drag on for years, and take way more time and money than they expected.
Their families get mad at them for putting a “cause” ahead of the family, and their primary relationship—spouse, partner—often breaks down.
Their mental health suffers, often seriously. Many end up suffering from depression or alcoholism. Many consider suicide.
They suffer both short-term and long-term financial problems.
They end up taking a job that’s significantly worse than the one they used to have.

Here, in their own words, is what people say happened to them after they blew the whistle.

When you blow the whistle, you become poison to the company. Your presence makes them sick.
Unnamed whistleblower, as quoted in Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power, by C. Fred Alford.

Since I complained the men gather and talk about me and say the ‘little bitch’ won’t be happy till someone is fired.
A heavy equipment operator at a fly-in camp at the Mary River Mine in Nunavut complaining about sexual harassment in 2018.

I was expecting retribution within the unit. I wasn’t expecting that when it got to the senior executive arm of the military, when the higher levels stepped in, that they wouldn’t support me.
A former civilian employee at the Department of National Defence filed a grievance reporting sexual and racial harassment and was suspended and later fired.

It’s taken years and it’s taken our entire livelihood. I’ve already spent nearly $60,000 out of pocket for a human rights tribunal that hasn’t even started.
A former Toronto police officer talking about the financial and human cost of pursuing complaints against her fellow officers before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

If you blow the whistle, there’s a chance you could get sued for defamation

If you say bad things about a person or a business, they might sue you for defamation. “Defamation” is a legal term. It describes what it’s called when someone publicly says something that isn’t true and that hurts the other person’s or company’s reputation.

Anybody can file a defamation case. They don’t have to have a good case; they just need enough money to pay a lawyer.

Do whistleblowers regret blowing the whistle?

I think I was crazy to blow the whistle. Only I don’t think I ever had a choice. It was speak up or stroke out.
Whistleblower John Brown, as quoted in Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power, by C. Fred Alford

If a whistleblower could go back in time, knowing exactly how everything would play out, would they still blow the whistle? Researchers say yes. Practically all whistleblowers say they would blow the whistle all over again, even if they knew exactly what would happen afterward.

That doesn’t mean they don’t regret it. Many do. The losses they’ve suffered are serious.

So why would they do it again? The experts say it’s because whistleblowers strongly believe in duty and responsibility. They just could not live with themselves, knowing about an injustice that was hurting people and was being ignored, if they didn’t at least try to do something about it.

That is part of why whistleblowing is so hard on people. Because they’re idealistic, and what happens afterward causes them to lose faith in their bosses, their co-workers, their family and friends, and the justice system.

From C. Fred Alford’s book Whistleblowers, here is a list of what Alford says whistleblowers believed before they blew the whistle, which they had to let go of afterward:

That law and justice can be relied upon.
That the individual will not be sacrificed for the sake of the group.
That your friends will be loyal even if your co-workers aren’t.
That the organization is not fundamentally immoral.
That someone, somewhere, who is in charge knows, cares, and will do the right thing.
That the truth matters, and someone will want to know it.
That if one is right and persistent, things will turn out all right in the end.
That even if they don’t turn out all right, other people will know and understand.
That the family is a haven in a heartless world, and your spouse and children will not abandon you.

How to decide whether to blow the whistle

We can’t tell you whether blowing the whistle is right for you. It’s a very personal decision.

Here’s what we can say.

Blowing the whistle is unlikely to get you justice.

But for some people blowing the whistle is the right answer anyway.

If you’re the kind of person who would blow the whistle, you probably know it already. If you’re not sure, ask yourself how you feel about these statements:

It’s important to tell the truth.

It’s important to keep your promises.

I have a strong sense of personal responsibility.

The real test of character is doing the right thing even when it’s hard.

To remain silent in the face of injustice is cowardly.

I couldn’t live with myself if I behaved without honour.

I couldn’t bear to associate with people who don’t live up to their obligations.

Privilege comes with responsibility, and responsibility requires accountability.

Integrity means doing the right thing, even if you end up being punished for it.

Important

This is not legal advice! What you are getting here is just general legal information. It is not a substitute for advice from an actual lawyer about your specific situation. If you need legal advice, we urge you to find a lawyer who can help you.

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and what it does

The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) is an arm’s-length agency of the provincial government where you can file a formal complaint saying you’ve been sexually harassed. One law that protects you from discrimination is the Ontario Human Rights Code. Sexual harassment under the code is a type of discrimination based on sex. If your complaint falls within the commission’s jurisdiction, it will accept it for processing.

When you think about filing a complaint, you might imagine a process that ends in an adjudicator definitively ruling that what happened to you was either right or wrong. But in reality, that almost never happens. In 2022-23, almost half of the roughly 3,400 cases the OHRT closed were dismissed by the tribunal; of the ones that weren’t, only 33 were decided on their merits, and in about half of those no discrimination was found. The majority of cases are settled through mediation, not by an adjudicator.

We’re not saying don’t make a complaint to the tribunal, but it’s very unlikely the outcome will be a public acknowledgement of the fact that you were harassed. If you think you would be satisfied with a private settlement, which could involve such things as money to compensate you for the harm you experienced, an apology or a job reference, then having your complaint mediated could be right for you.

Facts about the HRTO

Every year, about 550 people file a complaint with the tribunal saying they have been discriminated against or harassed on the basis of their sex.
Most of the complaints filed with the HRTO never get formally decided by the tribunal. If they’re not settled through mediation, almost 80% are abandoned before a trial for reasons that have to do the process taking so long—usually many years.
When the tribunal decides that someone was discriminated against or harassed, it sometimes gives them an award of money as compensation for financial losses they suffered or the hurt and loss of dignity they experienced. There is technically no limit to the amount of money the tribunal could award, but it is seldom over $30,000.
Sources: Tribunals Ontario 2022-23 Annual Report; Tribunal Watch; Human Rights Legal Support Centre

Why consider filing a complaint with the tribunal

If you decide to file a complaint with the tribunal, here are a few things you may get out of the process:

It could be a chance to tell the harasser what they did is not okay.
You might get back money you lost because of the harassment—maybe you didn’t get a special project or a promotion, or were fired.
You might get your job back or get a reference for a new one.
You could request that your workplace make changes that would affect everyone there, not just you, like improving employee policies and training around sexual harassment.
It is possible you might get some money to recognize the emotional harm you suffered from the harassment.

How to make a complaint to the tribunal

To file a complaint for yourself you must complete Form 1. If someone like a lawyer or paralegal is filing for you, they should fill out Form 1G. The tribunal has a very comprehensive applicant’s guide to filing an application that will be useful, though a bit technical. A better option might be the information on the Human Rights Legal Support Centre website.

The HRLSC, which is funded by the Ontario government and is not part of the tribunal, can help you with the tribunal process. Start with its online questionnaire, which lets you figure out whether you’ve been discriminated against under the Ontario Human Rights Code. If it seems that you have, the HRLSC can give you guidance on completing and filing an application and provide you with legal advice and assistance; sometimes this can include assigning you a lawyer to represent you at mediation or a hearing.

You can file an application against anybody who is sexually harassing you at work—your employer, a co-worker, a supervisor, a customer, or a contractor. In your application, you can also name the company or organization you were or are working for. Even if your employer is not the one who’s harassing you, they have to protect you from sexual harassment and a harassing environment. See How to report sexual harassment to your employer.

Will the tribunal accept your application?

You have one year from when the harassment happened to file your application with the tribunal. If the harassment happened more than once, the deadline is one year from the last incident of harassment.
You can file a complaint with the commission if you work in Ontario or if the harassment happened in Ontario, but not if you work at a federally regulated workplace. See Am I a federally regulated worker? (And why it matters.)
You’re covered if you’re unionized or non-unionized, temporary or permanent, an independent contractor, or undocumented.
Even if the harassment happened outside Ontario, the tribunal may take your case if you work for an Ontario-regulated employer and you’re based in Ontario—for example, if the harassment happened while you were on a business trip outside of the province.
After you submit your application, the tribunal might decide that the harassment you faced doesn’t relate to a ground of discrimination under the code. In that case, your application will not proceed.

How mediation works

While both you and the respondent—the person your complaint is about—will be encouraged to participate in mediation, no one can be forced to do this. It involves you and the respondent finding a solution to your complaint—something you both agree to.

If you agree to the process, the tribunal will assign you a mediator. Mediators are experts in dispute resolution and human rights law who listen to you and the respondent and work with both of you to come to a settlement. They’re not supposed to pick a side, and they aren’t supposed to favour either you or the respondent. They may explain to you why your case is weak or strong, but they won’t make a decision about whether your complaint is justified. Their goal is to try to reach a solution that both parties can agree to, so your case doesn’t have to go to a hearing. The purpose of this process is not to determine whether you were sexually harassed according to the Human Rights Act.

The mediator will not tell you what to do but they can tell you the strengths and weaknesses of your case. This can help you decide on a realistic settlement goal or what the outcome might be if you choose to go a hearing.

It can take five months or more from the time you and the respondent agree to mediation for a meeting to be scheduled. When that happens, it will probably be conducted electronically.

For more information

The HRTO website includes a detailed guide to mediation. You’ll also find how-to guides about preparing for the mediation and hearing processes on the Human Rights Legal Support Centre site.

Pros and cons of mediation

The mediation process is free.
Many people participate in mediation without a lawyer or paralegal.
Mediation can be less stressful and simpler than a hearing. It doesn’t involve gathering evidence, calling witnesses, or testifying.
You are the one to decide what you will accept from the respondent to make up for the harm they caused.
Reaching a settlement is usually faster than a hearing, which could take years to happen.
More creativity is possible in mediation. For example, you can’t ask for an apology in a hearing.
Everything you say is considered confidential, or “without prejudice”—it can’t be used against you later.
There is no risk in participating in mediation. If it fails, you still may have the option of a hearing.

Mediation doesn’t give you a chance to publicly say what happened to you or be told that it was wrong.
You may not be able to share details of any mediated settlement you reach if the settlement you agreed to includes a confidentiality clause—in that situation you must sign a non-disclosure agreement
You may not get everything you ask for—you have to be ready to compromise.

What you might ask for

Money to compensate you for:

The harm to your dignity, feelings, and self-respect.
Lost wages.
The cost of counselling sessions you’ve needed and/or money to cover future counselling.

Besides money:

An apology.
Your job back or a reference letter for a new one.
A change at the workplace, like including a sexual harassment section in the policies handbook.
Your employer having to take a course about preventing and dealing with sexual harassment.
A donation to a charity of your choice as a way of saying sorry.

What are you likely to get?

Details of mediated settlements are private. However, you’ll find brief descriptions of some real-life examples on the Human Rights Legal Support Centre site. In a number of those cases the agreement didn’t involve money at all; instead, the respondents were ordered to do things like take human rights training or create a human rights policy that all managers would have to be trained about. Where there was a financial settlement, no amount was shown. But the types of monetary awards when sexual harassment cases are decided at hearings are a guide. The range is really wide: from $10,000 to $200,000. However, there aren’t very many big awards, and they happen when the harassment was particularly bad and went on for a long time.

Beyond mediation

If you or the respondent chooses not to participate in mediation or the process fails, it’s possible your case will go to a hearing. First, though, there will be a preliminary hearing where an adjudicator decides whether your complaint can go forward. Many complaints are dismissed at this stage because people have abandoned them.

This happens for several reasons that have to do with the really long time it takes for complaints to reach the hearing stage—if they do at all.

Sometimes people withdraw their complaint because years have passed, and they decide it’s no longer worth pursuing.
Sometimes they decide they want to move on with their lives after such a long delay or they don’t want to relive the harassment.
Sometimes the conditions they wanted changed are no longer the same as they were when the harassment happened: Maybe the person who harassed them has left the workplace or the business has changed hands.
Sometimes, after years of delay, they suddenly get a notice asking them to do something about their case and they don’t have enough time to respond. This is particularly likely to happen when people don’t have legal help.

Pros and cons of your case being decided at a hearing

The tribunal has expertise in harassment. All it does is handle complaints of discrimination, including harassment.
The tribunal has the power to say that, yes, you were harassed, and that what happened to you was wrong.
The tribunal can order many different remedies. It can award you money. If you were fired or had to quit because of the harassment, it can order your employer to give you your job back. It can order your employer to make a donation to a charity, or to provide anti-harassment training.
If you go to civil court instead of the tribunal, you might end up having to pay the other party’s legal costs if you lose your case. With the tribunal process that can’t happen. You will never end up needing to pay the other party’s legal costs.

It can take years for a hearing to be held.
If you hire a lawyer to represent you, that will be expensive. If you don’t hire a lawyer, your chances of success are much lower. People who represent themselves at the tribunal are less likely to have their complaints found justified.
Very few people end up being told by the tribunal that they were harassed and what happened to them was wrong. Tribunal data show that of all the cases that go through the tribunal process, less than 2% end up with the tribunal having a hearing and finding in favour of the person who was harassed.
Tribunal financial awards are usually fairly small. There is technically no limit to the amount of money the tribunal could award you, but awards are generally under $30,000. The amount of an award is affected by how severe the harassment was and how long it went on. And remember, with most tribunal cases, people don’t end up receiving any money at all.
If you choose the tribunal process, you may close the door to other legal options.
Even if the tribunal awards you money or other things, that doesn’t mean you will necessarily get them. It can be hard to force your employer or the harasser to give you everything the tribunal ordered, or what you agreed to in mediation.
Like in any legal process, your opponents will try to undermine your credibility and make you look bad. You could end up feeling disbelieved and unsupported.
Some psychologists believe it’s a bad idea for people who have experienced sexual harassment to get involved in any legal process. They say legal processes can slow down your ability to heal emotionally from what happened to you, because they keep you focused on the past. These experts believe that it can be healthier for the person who experienced harassment to put the past behind them and focus on their present and future.

If your case goes ahead

You can find out more about the preparing for a hearing on the Human Rights Legal Support Centre’s website.

This helpful video from the tribunal illustrates what happens at a hearing.

While theoretically it is possible to proceed with a complaint representing yourself, this is very challenging, time consuming, and potentially harmful to your mental health. Your chances of success are much greater with legal help.

Here are some places that offer free or lower-cost legal services:

The HRLSC provides free legal help and support to people throughout Ontario who have been discriminated against, including those who have been sexually harassed. It offers services in 140 languages, including Cree, Oji-Cree, Mohawk, and Ojibway. It can help with applications to the Human Rights Tribunal and may be able to assist with representation at the tribunal and other aspects of the process, though this is not guaranteed. The type of assistance that the HRLSC will be able to give you is decided on a case-by-case basis.
Legal Aid Ontario funds over 70 community and specialty legal clinics, many of which provide employment law services. These can include assisting with complaints to the tribunal, including complaints relating to workplace sexual harassment. The specialty clinics serve Toronto clients based on their identity—Aboriginal Legal Services, the Black Legal Action Centre, Centre for Spanish-Speaking Peoples, for example. Legal Aid is only for those with low incomes; in 2024, the maximum income for one person to access clinic services was just under $23,000. Find a legal clinic here.
Pro Bono Ontario has a legal advice hotline. The lawyers there can help you determine what your legal issues are and aid you in drafting letters and basic legal documents. They may also be able to refer you to pro bono and other lawyers; the pro bono service is dependent on your income level.
The Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic assists low- and middle-income women-identified and non-binary people who have experienced violence. It has lawyers who can give you advice about your legal options if you have been sexually assaulted or harassed. The clinic’s #AndMeToo project is for marginalized women who have been sexually harassed at work.
JusticeNet is a not-for-profit service for those whose income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees. To qualify you must have a net family income under $70,000, or $90,000 if there are three or more people in your family, and be experiencing financial difficulties. Participating lawyers’ reduced rates vary depending on your family size and income.
211 Ontario is a free and confidential 24/7 phone and text service that connects individuals to services in the province. You can call or text 2-1-1 to be connected with trained professionals to help find support services.
Your workplace union, association, or employee assistance program may be able to help you find legal services or cover part of your legal fees.

A “whisper network” is what it’s called when people quietly, privately, warn one another about other people who are dangerous.

A whisper network is different from a report or complaint, because it deliberately avoids people in positions of authority.

You can whisper about somebody and report them, or you can whisper first and report later, or you can do one and not the other. They’re totally separate things.

How whisper networks work

Whisper networks have been around forever. Here’s how they work.

Someone gets harassed. They tell one or more friends. Those people tell other people. Gradually, the harasser gets a reputation and people learn to avoid them.

Some whisper networks are centred around a single workplace. In those, the warnings are usually verbal.

Some are centred around an entire industry. In those, the warnings might be digital. Here are some examples of digital whisper networks:

In the U.K., women working in and around parliament made a group chat that they used to warn one another about politicians and other parliamentary workers who had harassed them.
In the U.S., women working in journalism made a Google spreadsheet called “Shitty Media Men,” where they shared stories of men working in the media who had harassed them.
Sex workers have been collecting and publishing “bad date” reports for decades, warning one another about violent or dangerous clients. Those reports used to be printed on paper, but now they are usually posted online or shared by email.

The three big problems with whisper networks

Whisper networks don’t reach everybody

To warn somebody, you have to trust them, at least a little. (Because they could tell the harasser or your bosses, and that might get you in trouble.) That means people tend to whisper only with people they already know and trust.

So people who aren’t socially connected are the least likely to be warned. That’s bad, because they are also the people most likely to be harassed.

People left out of whisper networks tend to be:

new to the workplace
new to the industry
younger than everybody else
racialized, queer, or have a disability
neurodivergent, especially if they have autism
not very socially connected
not fluent in the majority workplace language

Whisper networks do nothing to make the harasser stop harassing people

They make it possible for some people to avoid harassment. But they don’t stop the harasser from trying to harass people, and they don’t do anything to punish the harasser or remove them from the workplace.

Because of that, a lot of people are critical of whisper networks. But we’re not. Stopping a harasser is not what a whisper network is for. A whisper network is purely for warning people. It doesn’t stop anybody from reporting or taking any other kind of action.

Whisper networks can get you in legal trouble

This is less likely to happen with a verbal network, and more likely to happen with one that leaves an evidence trail, like text messages or social media posts.

If you say someone is a harasser, or did some awful thing, it’s possible that they will sue you for defamation. “Defamation” is a legal term. It describes what it’s called when someone publicly says something about somebody else that isn’t true and that hurts the other person’s reputation. It can be something published, which is often called “libel,” or something spoken—in some parts of the country, this is called “slander.”

Being sued for defamation doesn’t happen very often, but it does happen. Defamation lawsuits are getting more common than they used to be because today there is more likely to be a digital trail of the things we say and share.

How to use whisper networks to protect yourself and other people

Here are five tips for making your whisper network work as well as possible.

Recognize a warning when you get one

Sometimes a warning is direct, like this:

“Jacob is a sexual predator. People have been complaining about him for years, but nobody stops him.”

But it’s much more common for them to be indirect, like this:

“Have you met Ryan? You’re gonna want to brace yourself. He’s a very friendly guy.”

Or this:

“I like Dave a lot. But I steer clear of him when he’s been drinking.”

Or this:

“Alain seems really into you. Ha ha. Be careful!”

People will practically never tell you flat out that someone is a harasser.

That’s because they’re afraid they’ll get in trouble. So instead of telling you directly, they will hint.

We’re going to dig into this a little, because some people have trouble recognizing this kind of hinting, and we don’t want you to miss it.

Here’s how to tell if someone is warning you:

They’ll probably do it when the two of you are alone together.
They probably won’t directly say that the person is a harasser. Instead they may use language that, if you quote them, won’t sound too bad. Like “flirty” or “old school.”
They usually won’t give you any facts. (They may know facts, but not tell them to you.) Instead they may say things that are vague and general, like “Kevin has a reputation” or “Everybody knows about Sylvain.”
They may talk about how much they like or admire the person they’re warning you about. You can ignore that part. They’re just doing it to protect themselves in case you tell people what they said.
Somewhere in what they say, maybe very buried, they will tell you to stay away from a person or group of people. That’s the important part.

A good rule of thumb is that, if someone is taking the time to warn you, then you should take them seriously, even if their tone and manner don’t seem very serious.

Thank the person who warned you

The person who warned you is taking a risk. They’re doing you a favour. You should thank them, so they know you understand what’s happening and won’t report them to the harasser or your boss.

Contribute your own warnings to the network

The more people who participate in a whisper network, the better it works.

People often hesitate to share information with the whisper network because they don’t think what they know is important enough to be worth sharing. But that’s not the right way to think about it. Your little piece of information may not be important. But put together with other pieces, it might be.

Here’s something that happened to someone we know:

At a conference, a man and a woman had drinks together, and then he hit on her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. She told a friend, and that friend told her friends. Once everybody had compared notes, it turned out that the guy had behaved badly with women at conferences several times before. They told the conference organizer. She investigated, kicked the guy out, and banned him from future conferences.

The moral of this story: Don’t hesitate to share information. Harassers want you to be quiet. But you don’t need to be.

Bring new people into the network

This is really important! The bigger the network is, the more it can protect people.

It’s especially important to bring in people who are new to your workplace or industry, who are young, not fluent in the majority workplace language, racialized, queer, disabled, or neurodivergent, and people who are shy, timid, or antisocial.

These are the people most likely to get harassed, and they’re also the ones most likely to be left out of whisper networks. You can fix that, by bringing them in.

Consider shifting from whispering to reporting

If people aren’t reporting sexual harassment at your workplace (or in your industry), there’s probably a very good reason. We’re not here to push you to report if reporting doesn’t feel wise.

But, if someone is getting named as a harasser over and over again, then it’s probably worth considering whether it’s time to formally report.

You shouldn’t pressure other people to report, and you definitely shouldn’t report what happened to someone else without their permission.

But if you’re finding there’s a person in your circles who’s repeatedly harassing people, it’s worth having a conversation inside the network about whether it’s time to report them.

Warning

If you don’t feel safe trying to talk directly with the harasser, don’t do it. Trust your instincts.

The first thing you need to know is that you don’t have to do this.

We’re telling you that because talking directly to the harasser is something lots of people feel pressured or obligated to do. Their employer may pressure them to do it. They may feel like they’re being a coward if they don’t. They may feel like it’s only fair to warn the harasser and give them a chance to change.

But that assumes the person is harassing you by accident, because they’re confused or clueless. Which usually isn’t true.

The truth is, most harassers are doing it on purpose. They don’t care if the harassment bothers you, or they are trying to bother you. That means they’re not likely to stop just because you ask them to.

You still might want to try.

If so, your goal should be to make it clear that their behaviour is surprising and not welcome.

It’s okay if the conversation is tense.
You don’t need the harasser to agree that their behaviour is wrong.
You don’t need to agree about anything.
You don’t need to end up friendly.

Scripts that may help you talk with the harasser

Yikes, I am really not a hugger!

Wow, that’s a really personal question!

Hey, that’s a weird joke!

If the person immediately stops—and even better, apologizes—then that’s great and your problem may be solved.

If not, you could try speaking more directly. Like this:

You talk a lot about how I look and it’s making me uncomfortable. I’d like to ask you to stop.

There is a lot of explicit sex talk here and it’s really not my style. I’d appreciate it if you could scale it way back.

The more specific you can be, the better.

You guys make a lot of jokes about me being a woman. It feels aggressive to me, like you’re saying women don’t belong here. I would really like it if you would stop.

When you touch me, it really bothers me. I need you not to do that. I don’t want people at work to touch me like that.

I know I might be the first trans person you’ve worked with. But I need you to stop asking me questions about it. It’s not my job to talk to you about trans stuff.

I find it strange when you give me advice about how to be more masculine. I am happy to talk about other stuff, but I’d like it if we could drop that particular subject.

The truth is, being sexually harassed is very likely going to cost you money.

That sucks and we’re sorry.

What to do if you’ve decided to stay at work

Maybe you’ve decided to just stay at work and try to cope with the harassment.

That might work out fine. But it’s risky, and eventually you may find yourself burnt out and having to quit.

Experts say that, if the harassment is severe enough or goes on long enough, it can wear away at your mental health to the point where you’re unable to work. And the effects creep up on people. It’s not uncommon for someone to think they’re coping fine, and then one day suddenly realize they just can’t go to work anymore.

You don’t want that to happen to you. So, it makes sense to keep an eye on your stress levels. And maybe ask a friend to help you do it too, because they might notice things you don’t.

If you’re taking more sick days, or your doctor has put you on medication for depression or anxiety, or you’re drinking more, for example—and especially if these things have been going on for a while, and are getting worse…it might be time to find a new job—or even a new career—instead of staying where you are.

It’s better to job hunt early, while you’re in good shape, than to wait too long and do it when you’re seriously stressed and unhappy.

What to do if you’ve decided to report the harassment

When people report sexual harassment, it’s really common for them to get punished, including financially. You could get fired, you could lose shifts or clients or customers, or lose new opportunities.

Here are some things you can do that might help make that less likely:

Before you report, try to build up as much goodwill as you can with your employer and other people at your workplace.
You might feel the instinct to withdraw socially from people at your work. Don’t do it! You haven’t done anything wrong and you have nothing to be ashamed of, and having solid work relationships can protect you against being judged or punished after you report.
When you report, make it clear to your employer that you like your job and your employer, and your goal in reporting is to alert them to a safety issue so they can fix it. Try to make it clear that it’s you and your employer against the harassment, not you against your employer.
Make it clear to your employer that, under the law, you are not supposed to suffer financially because of harassment. So if somebody is going to lose money (from fewer shifts or assignments that pay less well) it should be the harasser, not you. Sometimes employers don’t know this, so it can help if you tell them.
It’s not your responsibility to figure out how to keep yourself safe from the harasser. That’s your employer’s job. But if you can think of ways your employer can do it, you should tell them. If you can help solve the problem, they may be less likely to punish you.
If other people are being harassed, try to persuade them to report as well. That way your employer is less likely to single you out and decide you’re the problem.
If there are witnesses to what’s happened, try to persuade them to come forward—or, even better, to report what’s happening themselves, instead of you doing it. Employers sometimes take a complaint more seriously if it comes from someone other than the person who’s being harassed.
After you report, try to refocus yourself and your employer on your own career goals. (Like, you can ask for training, or ask them to help you figure out how you can advance inside the company.) The goal here is to help your employer imagine you as someone who’s going to have a long career with them, rather than them thinking of you as someone who’s unhappy and likely to leave.
Do the same thing with your co-workers and inside your professional network. Talk openly about your work and work goals with other people. That will help them see you less as a harassment victim and more as someone who cares about the work.

What to do if you’ve decided to quit your job, or think you might get fired

Eventually, lots of people end up needing or wanting to get a new job—either to get away from the harassment, or because complaining about it has resulted in getting their punished. But if you wait too long, you might end up needing to job hunt urgently, which might mean you need to take a job you don’t really want. It makes sense to start job hunting early.

When you’re thinking about a new job, here are some things to consider:

Is it less likely you’ll be harassed at the new job?
Are the pay and benefits as good as (or better than) the job you’re leaving?
Does the new job suit you? The location, the hours, the opportunities?
If you’re asked why you’re leaving your current job, what will you say?
Will your boss at your current job give you a good reference? If not, will a co-worker?

Before you quit your job, talk with a lawyer

This is really important.

If you decide you need to quit your job due to the harassment, or if you get fired after complaining about harassment, we urge you to talk with a lawyer.

A lawyer can help you figure out if there’s a way to make your employer pay you for any costs the harassment created for you, as well as for the hassle and stress. A couple of hundred dollars for a consultation might turn out to be a very smart financial investment.

The most important advice we’re going to give you

If you’ve been harassed, it’s pretty likely you’ll be harassed again.

There are certain kinds of people who face a higher-than-average risk of harassment, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably one of those people.

If you’re a woman. If you’re under 40. If you’re Indigenous or racialized or queer or disabled. If you’re an immigrant or a refugee. If you don’t speak the dominant language where you live. If you work in a majority-male environment. If you’re not very social. If you’re poor.

The more of those boxes you tick, the higher the risk that you’ll be harassed.

If your risk is high, it’s pretty likely that you will suffer financially from harassment over the course of your working life, maybe many times.

And that means you need to be careful about money. Maybe other people can afford to be sloppy about it. You are not one of those people.

You’ve decided you need legal advice. But you may not be sure how to get it. We’re here to help.

The first thing you have to do is find a lawyer

All lawyers specialize in a particular area of the law, and the first thing you need to figure out is what area of specialization you need.

In the case of workplace sexual harassment, you’re probably looking for an employment or labour lawyer, and ideally one with experience in harassment or discrimination. If you’re planning to file a claim with a human rights commission, you may want to find a lawyer who specializes in human rights. But there aren’t a lot of lawyers who specialize in human rights law, and if you can’t find one, an employment or labour lawyer is probably your best bet.

Important

You may think you can get a lawyer for free through legal aid, but you probably can’t. All provinces and territories in Canada do offer legal aid services, but many don’t help with employment or human rights issues. Also, legal aid is only normally available for people who make about $25,000 a year or less.

Here are the best ways to find a lawyer:

Word of mouth: Does someone in your network have a recommendation? Many people find their lawyer through recommendations from friends and acquaintances. If you are lucky enough to know somebody who had an issue similar to yours and was happy with the lawyer they used, that is great and you should consider that lawyer. If someone you know is close to a lawyer who doesn’t specialize in the area of law you need, you could call that lawyer and ask for a referral. It’s normal for lawyers to make referrals, and they will probably be happy to do it.
All provinces and territories except Saskatchewan and New Brunswick operate lawyer referral services that connect people with participating lawyers. Usually, those lawyers offer a 30-minute meeting for free or a small fee. After that, you can choose to hire the lawyer—or not. If you don’t think the lawyer you’ve been referred to is a good fit, you can ask for another referral.
The Canadian Bar Association offers a Find-A-Lawyer search tool where you can look up lawyers near you who specialize in the type of law you need. Usually, the lawyer will agree to give you a 30-minute meeting for free.
Google is your friend! A lot of people find lawyers just by searching online. Some lawyers blog or write columns or appear in the media, and that can give you a great sense of who they are and what they’re like. Searching online can also help you find a lawyer or firm that specializes in supporting people like you. For example, if you are Indigenous, queer, or an immigrant to Canada, you may be able to find a firm with special expertise that’s relevant to you and your case.
If your income is too high to qualify for legal aid but too low to afford regular legal fees, you might qualify for JusticeNet. It’s a national not-for-profit directory of lawyers and paralegals who offer services at a reduced fee for people who are experiencing financial difficulties and who have a net family income under $90,000.

Tip

If you know you can’t afford a lawyer and you live in Ontario, you might be able to seek help from a paralegal instead. Paralegals can’t do everything a lawyer can do (for example, they can’t represent you in civil court) and they don’t have as much legal education. But there are lots of things they can do, and they charge about half of what a lawyer does.

How to decide who to hire

Obviously cost is a factor, and we’ll talk about that in a moment. But it’s also important to choose someone you feel you’ll be comfortable with. Do you like this person? Do you find them easy to understand? Do you feel safe talking with them?

Tip

Some lawyers offer trauma-informed services. This is a commitment to engage with clients who have experienced trauma in ways that are safe, empowering, and collaborative.

Tip

If you’re considering hiring a particular lawyer, it’s worth looking them up on Google Maps or Yelp to see if anybody has reviewed them there. You can also check the Better Business Bureau for reviews and complaints. You can also see what cases they’ve handled by checking CanLII, a free database for legal decisions in Canada.

When you and the lawyer first meet, here are some questions you might want to ask:

How many cases like mine have you handled?
Do you have any reported cases?
How did they turn out?
How long do you expect my case to take?
What are the legal options available to me?
How does the law apply to my case?
What will be the next steps?
What should I do or not do as my case goes forward?
What expectations can I have about the outcome?

How much it’s going to cost

Lawyers structure their fees in different ways.

Some operate on a contingency basis, which means they don’t charge you at the beginning but will keep a percentage of any money they win for you, like maybe 30% or more of the total award. The Law Society of Ontario offers good information and advice about contingency fees here.

But most lawyers charge by the hour.

A lawyer’s hourly rate depends on a number of things:

how experienced they are
what size firm they work for—smaller firms are often cheaper
where in the country you are—rates in smaller places are usually cheaper than in big cities

Most lawyers’ hourly rates start around $400. Sometimes your lawyer will also work with a less-experienced lawyer or a paralegal, who they supervise and whose hourly rate is lower. Your lawyer will also charge you for expenses (officially called disbursements), which are things like photocopying fees and court filing fees. But the majority of the cost of a lawyer is usually their hourly rate.

The most effective way to keep your costs low is to limit what you’re asking them to do. If you want to start a complicated legal action that might end up in court, with lots of phone calls and preparation, that will be expensive. If you just want the lawyer to write a letter or file a document, that will be much cheaper.

Tip

When you meet with a lawyer and describe what you want them to do, unless it’s very simple, they won’t be able to tell you exactly what it will cost. That’s normal. They just don’t know how complex the work will turn out to be, so they don’t know how much time it will take.

If you hire a lawyer who charges by the hour, you may be asked for a retainer, which is an amount of money up front—say, $2,000—before they start work on your case. When that’s used up, they will ask you for more.

Some lawyers charge a block rate. This means you pay one fee for the whole job. A block rate is a good way to cap your costs, because whatever you’re quoted at the beginning will be the maximum you will pay for the job, unless the case unexpectedly becomes way more complicated. This allows people to avoid a situation where they get halfway through a legal case and then run out of money.

Normally your lawyer will make a contract for your work together (sometimes called an engagement letter) that includes a fee agreement outlining how you will be billed. They should regularly send you statements showing you how much they have charged you, and for what.

Tip

It’s totally okay to ask questions about fees, and how you can keep them low! Lawyers know they are expensive, and they know it’s not an expense that people have budgeted for. They are usually very comfortable talking about how to minimize your costs.

Working with your lawyer

You are the boss. Your lawyer won’t do anything you don’t ask them to do and won’t do anything without your approval. They’ll present you with your options, and you will make the decision. That doesn’t mean they won’t advise you; they will. But you will get to make the final decision.

Review with them what they can and cannot do for you, and what your role will be when you are working together. Having a clear idea about what to expect can help avoid misunderstandings.

Your lawyer will need information from you. This is where your documentation comes in. See Document Everything. You can keep your legal costs low by providing documentation that’s clear and well organized, and being focused and brief when you talk with your lawyer. You will normally be paying for every minute that they spend with you, even for short phone calls and email exchanges.

What a lawyer can’t do for you

Important

It’s very common for people to go to a lawyer because they want the legal system to validate them and give them justice. But it’s your lawyer’s job to tell you what’s realistically possible, and the truth can be very disappointing. It’s worth trying to be realistic about what the legal system can and cannot give you, so you don’t end up feeling let down.

If you are lucky, your lawyer will be empathetic and kind.

But your lawyer is not a therapist, and they can’t be your source for mental health support. They aren’t trained to do it, and they are too expensive. It’s a good idea to get support to help you process what you’ve experienced, and you should seek it from someone who is not your lawyer.

Your lawyer is also not your friend. They need to have a professional relationship with you, so they can be objective about your situation and give you realistic advice. It’s a good idea to surround yourself with emotional support, but you shouldn’t be seeking it from your lawyer.

Your lawyer is also not your career coach. They can’t advise you about how a particular decision might affect your career, and you shouldn’t expect them to. You should seek that kind of advice from people in your industry who you trust.

Confidentiality, privilege, and honesty

Anything you say to your lawyer and anything they learn about you from working on your case, no matter where it comes from, is confidential. Your lawyer cannot repeat what they know about you to anyone outside of their firm without your permission. This means that, if you end up in court, for example, what you’ve said to them will be private. Lawyers are normally very good at maintaining confidentiality and you shouldn’t need to worry that they won’t.

Any communication between you and your lawyer about the legal advice they’re giving you is privileged, including emails, texts, and letters. These are private and cannot be shared with anyone outside of their firm unless you agree. Lawyers are good at this, too.

It’s common for people to not tell their lawyer things that make them look bad, because they’re embarrassed, or because they think their lawyer will work harder if they like and respect them. But you should always be honest with your lawyer. It’s unlikely you will shock them, and they need to know the truth, so they can construct a case that helps you.

If things go badly

Important

Lawyers do not control the outcome of your case, and they cannot guarantee that you’ll get what you want. If a lawyer guarantees you success, they might not be a very good lawyer.

Here are some signs suggesting you might have a bad lawyer:

They promise they can get you the exact outcome you want.
Their fee structure isn’t clear, or they didn’t give it to you in writing.
When they explain things to you, you don’t understand what they’re saying.
They often seem distracted, stressed, or overwhelmed.
They don’t remember who you are, or forget details of your case.
They are cold or rude.
They don’t return your calls or emails.
They are regularly late.
They make important decisions about your case without discussing them with you first.
They make mistakes, like missing deadlines or filing paperwork incorrectly.
Other legal professionals (like court clerks, judges, and opposing counsel) don’t seem to respect them.

Tip

One of the most common complaints about lawyers is a lack of communication. Sometimes, lawyers who are great at their jobs have a difficult time dealing with clients and communicating effectively. You may find a lawyer who is very good at what they do, but you will still have a poor relationship because of their bad communication skills.

If you have a complaint

If you believe your lawyer is doing a bad job, you can complain to the management of their firm, who may be able to fix the problem. If that doesn’t work, then the place to take your complaint is the provincial law society. Some law societies will take complaints about lawyers’ fees, and all law societies are responsible for disciplining members who have violated standards of conduct.

Important

This is just general information, not legal advice. If you need legal advice about your specific situation, we urge you to find a lawyer who can help you.

We’re going to tell you an important secret. Something that CEOs, HR people, and lawyers already know, but you probably don’t.

If you’ve been badly treated at your workplace to the point where you feel you need to quit your job, you may be able to get your employer to give you money by sending them what’s called a demand letter.

A demand letter is not guaranteed to get you money. Some employers will ignore it, or just tell you no. But it works often enough to make it worth trying.

How demand letters work

A demand letter is just an ordinary letter or email that you or your lawyer sends to your employer. It describes the bad treatment you experienced at work, and asks your employer to give you money in exchange for you agreeing to not sue them.

The premise of a demand letter is that you have been harassed to the point where it’s impossible for you to do your job, which means you need to quit, and the whole thing is your employer’s fault for not stopping the harassment.

You send a demand letter when you’re planning to quit—or, in some cases, after you’ve been fired. If you’re staying at work, you might send a demand letter if, for example, a co-worker has harassed you, causing a psychological injury. You could send a demand letter asking your employer to reimburse you for the money you’ve spent on counselling.

Here’s what usually happens:

You’re badly treated at work, and your employer doesn’t fix the problem. Maybe you complain, and they punish you.
You decide you need to quit. Or, you get fired.
You send a demand letter to your employer.
Your employer might ignore the letter, but usually they’ll reply. They may agree to give you everything you asked for, or some of it, or they reject your entire request.
You accept what they’ve offered, or push for more. You might go back and forth for a while, negotiating.
Eventually one of two things happens. Either you accept an offer, in which case you then sign a release letter, agreeing you will not take them to court. This is called a settlement. Or, you reject their offer (or there is no offer), in which case you need to decide whether to proceed with a lawsuit.

Why demand letters are great

Going to court is slow and expensive. Lots of people never even talk with a lawyer, because they know they can’t afford to pay for a legal dispute that might last years.

That’s where the demand letter comes in. A demand letter is essentially a threat. You are saying (or implying) that, if your demands aren’t met, you’ll take your employer to court.

But the important part is you don’t have to actually go to court. If you send a demand letter that gets ignored or rejected, you can stop right there and that’s the end of it.

This means that a demand letter is a pretty cheap, pretty easy way to see if you can get your employer to give you some money. If you can, that’s great. If you can’t, there’s no real harm done.

The one major cost of a demand letter is the lawyer who writes it for you. You can write a demand letter yourself, but if you can afford it, it’s better to have a lawyer do it. Lawyers know how to phrase things in a way that will make it as likely as possible that your employer will pay up.

Usually a lawyer will charge a flat fee to write the letter. Between $200 and $500 is common, but a lawyer might charge more if your matter is complicated.

We couldn’t find any Canadian statistics on how well demand letters work. But one U.S. survey found that almost 60% of people who sent a demand letter received a settlement, compared with only 36% of people who didn’t.

Why your employer might agree to give you money

In theory, your employer would only give you money if they thought you had a strong legal case. But in practice, there are lots of other reasons employers might do it:

They want to avoid a long and expensive court fight.
They would rather pay a smaller amount of money now, instead of what might be a bigger amount later (if you win a lawsuit).
They don’t want to be embarrassed in public by whatever gets said in a court case.
They don’t want their other employees to be mad at them for how they treated you.
They don’t want potential new employees to hear they’re a bad employer.
They don’t want you to be mad at them.
They feel bad about what happened to you, and want to make it right.

Here are some things that might mean you’re more likely to win a settlement:

Your employer thinks you’re good at your job.
You’ve worked there longer than two years.
Other employees, or customers/clients, like and respect you.
There’s someone in management who knows you personally and likes you.
You think your employer feels bad about how you’ve been treated.
If what happened to you became public, people might be angry with your employer.
You’re female, racialized, queer, or disabled.

What a demand letter usually looks like

Here’s what a demand letter typically looks like. They are usually a maximum of four pages.

Salutation

It’s important to direct the letter to the right person. Usually the more senior they are, the better—like the head of HR, the CEO, or maybe the general counsel.

Statement that you are leaving, why, and when

Explain a little about yourself, like what your job is at the company, when you started work, and how long you have worked there. If you have gotten good feedback on your work, you’ll want to say that too.

It’s important to be very clear that you are leaving your job. You should say when your last day of work will be. Usually that’s right away (“my resignation is effective immediately”), though sometimes it’s one or two weeks in the future.

Your lawyer can help you explain exactly why you’re leaving. Normally it’s because your employer has not resolved the harassment problem and so your workplace is unsafe. Sometimes it’s also because your employer has retaliated against you for complaining about being harassed. See Getting punished for complaining and how to protect yourself.

Factual statement of what happened and how it hurt you

Here the letter will describe the harassment you’ve experienced and your efforts to report it to your employer. Sometimes this part will be just a few sentences, and sometimes it’ll be several pages.

You’ll also describe how the harassment has hurt you: cost you money and/or caused you pain and suffering. You should write about any physical or mental health symptoms you’ve experienced, any medical diagnoses you’ve received (for example, anxiety or depression), any medications you’ve been prescribed, and any other harms you’ve suffered. If you feel you have been punished for complaining, you should describe that too.

Description of what you want

In this part of the letter, you’ll describe exactly what you want. This almost always includes money. Generally, you should ask for more money than you really expect to get. Some people say you should figure out the minimum amount you want, and ask for double.

You can also ask for things other than money, like a positive reference letter. Sometimes people ask to be allowed to describe their departure as a resignation rather than a dismissal. Sometimes they want to write the announcement that will go out saying they are leaving. You might ask to keep company property, like a laptop or cellphone. Usually it’s pretty easy to get your employer to agree to your non-money asks.

Any practical information about company property

Because you’re resigning, you need to tell your employer what company property you have, and how and when you plan to return it. It’s normal for your employer to expect you to return any company property, usually within a week or so of your last working day. Some employers will insist that you return their property, and in that case you definitely need to do it.

Date by which you would like a reply

It’s important to include a reply-by date, so that, if your employer plans to ignore your letter, you will know. Usually the date is about a week in the future, but sometimes it’s as short as a few days, or as long as two to three weeks.

More about demand letters

What is the right tone?

The letter should be factual and polite. It shouldn’t sound angry. It should be written in a more formal way if it’s signed by your lawyer, and it can be less formal if it’s signed by you. If your relationship with your employer is hostile, the letter should still be courteous. If your relationship has been mostly positive, the letter can be friendly.

Remember that sending a demand letter is not actually a hostile act. What you’re saying in the letter is that, even though you have a legal claim, you are willing to resolve it in a friendly fashion, rather than by going to court.

Usually it’s better to keep your options open rather than committing to a specific course of action. But sometimes (especially if your employer is hostile) it might save time to say exactly what you will do if your demands aren’t met. Your lawyer can help you figure this out.

What should my letter ask for?

Usually the letter should give a specific amount. This saves time, because your employer doesn’t have to guess what you want.

It’s also normal to ask for things like a positive reference letter. It’s normal to ask to keep company property. (Although employers sometimes say no.) You could also ask for an apology from your employer or from the harasser. You could ask that the harasser be required to attend sexual harassment training.

If I send a demand letter and I don’t get any money, does that mean I need to go to court?

No. Nothing about sending a demand letter commits you to actually going ahead with a lawsuit. But your letter is more likely to be successful if your employer believes you might go to court.

How should I deliver a demand letter?

You can send it by registered mail if you want to be able to prove it was received, but it’s not necessary. You could also hand deliver a copy.

It’s increasingly common to send a demand letter by email. If you do this, you should send it from your personal account, not your work account, and ask your employer to confirm they have received it. If they don’t confirm it, you will want to then deliver the letter in some other way.

If I send a demand letter and it’s ignored or rejected, what should I do?

You might decide to write a follow-up letter that restates what you want, and what you’ll do if you don’t get it. You might decide to start a legal case. Or you could decide to do nothing. It’s entirely up to you.

If I send a demand letter, what’s the worst thing that could happen?

Your employer might talk negatively about you to other people. They might refuse to give you a good reference. The worst-case outcome is probably that they are permanently angry with you, and you have burned a bridge and will never have a good relationship with them again.

Here are some examples of demand letters.

Important

Launching and participating in a civil lawsuit is expensive and time consuming, and some people find it traumatizing. If you’re thinking of doing it, we urge you to consult a lawyer first.

First, let’s define what we mean by taking legal action.

For the purposes of this article, we’re not talking about filing a human rights complaint, filing a grievance through your union, or making a formal report to your employer.

What we’re talking about here is filing—or threatening to file—a civil lawsuit.

What’s a civil lawsuit?

In civil court, cases are also called claims, lawsuits, or simply “litigation” (which means taking legal action). These are private disputes between people or companies. That means there is no police investigation, no Crown attorney, and no involvement of a tribunal or agency.

Unlike at a tribunal or in a criminal court, no one investigates the case—you and your lawyer have to collect and present all of your evidence yourself. And the other side gets to present their evidence as well.

You have to prove each of the facts on a balance of probabilities. This standard of proof is lower than in a criminal case. A balance of probabilities means that you have to prove that it is more likely than not that the harassment occurred, and that the harassment meets the legal tests for your type of case. In sexual harassment cases, it often comes down to your word against the defendants, and the judge will decide who to believe.

Important

Most civil claims have a two-year limitation period. But for crimes considered serious criminal matters there is no limitation. Sexual assault is in this category.

Why would someone file a civil lawsuit?

The main reason is money.

Nobody can go back in time and change what happened to you. But if somebody caused you harm, the premise of the legal system is that, in some circumstances, they can be forced to give you money to make up for it.

There are other reasons to take legal action. You might want the harasser to be ordered to stop harassing you. You might want there to be a permanent public record of what happened. It might feel important to you to have a judge rule in your favour. You might want keep the same thing from happening to someone else.

But the main reason people take legal action, and the main benefit of legal action, is money. It’s that simple.

Why don’t people file a civil lawsuit?

Most people who are harassed don’t take legal action.

There’s no way to know for sure how many do. But the research says that most people who’ve been harassed don’t take any formal action at all. Fewer than half even report to their employer what happened. Our guess is that fewer than 1% file a lawsuit.

Why don’t people take legal action? There are probably three main reasons:

They’re not sure if they have solid legal grounds for a claim, so they don’t know how likely it is that their case would be successful.
They think pursuing a legal claim would take too long, be too expensive, and be too risky.
They think it would be unpleasant, and they would rather just put the whole thing behind them and move on.

Those are good reasons.

Researchers say that a civil court case can be really bad for the mental health of the person who starts it. The case can take years, and during that time, the person who initiates it has to tell their story over and over, including to lawyers on the other side, who will try to make them look bad. Researchers say this can keep people stuck in the past and prevent them from being able to heal and move forward.

It’s also true that pursuing a legal case can be very expensive. Some people end up spending tens of thousands of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands. If you don’t have that kind of money, it can be hard to even imagine launching a civil court case. However, if a lawyer thinks you have a good case, they make take it on contingency. That means they would only get paid if you win.

But here’s something you need to know.

Just because you start legal action doesn’t mean you’re committing yourself to a long, expensive process.

Hardly any cases go all the way to a trial, and there are lots of opportunities for you to settle or withdraw along the way.

If you threaten legal action by sending your employer what’s called a demand letter, it’s possible they will settle with you immediately. In that case, your only expense is the cost of the letter itself, plus any negotiations that might follow it.
If you file a civil case against the harasser or your employer, it’s possible it will get settled before you get to the trial stage. In Canada, 98% of civil court cases are settled or abandoned before they ever get to trial. Abandonment is a bad outcome for you (it means you gave up), but a settlement can be great.
You could choose to pursue a claim through small claims court rather than ordinary civil court. The downside of small claims court is that the awards are smaller. But the upside is that the process is shorter and simpler, and you might be able to do it by yourself, without even needing a lawyer.

If you think you might have a legal case, even if you’re pretty sure you don’t want to go all the way to trial, you should seriously consider talking with a lawyer.

You can usually get a short consultation for free. A lawyer can help you figure out how strong your case is, and what course of action might make sense for you.

If I take legal action, what could I get?

You can settle your case for any amount of money that your adversary is willing to offer and you are willing to accept. Or, if you go to trial and win, the judge will decide how much money you get.

Typically, amounts are calculated on the basis of lost wages or expenses, costs of medical treatment, as well as harm to your well-being, which are called general damages. Occasionally, amounts also include punitive damages, intended to punish the other party.

You’ve probably seen headlines about people in the United States being awarded millions of dollars. It’s not like that in Canada. Here, an award of $200,000 is considered really large, and it’s very unlikely you’d get that much.

What does it cost to take legal action?

You will need to pay for your own lawyer, and also for any support they have, like if they use a paralegal to help them. Lawyers usually charge by the hour, and they will charge you for everything they do: for all the time they spend preparing for your case—talking to you, reading documents, writing letters, contacting the other side’s lawyers, and interviewing witnesses.

You will also need to pay any costs your lawyer incurs on your behalf, like the costs of filing documents, experts’ fees, or getting transcripts or photocopies made.

If your lawyer ends up just drafting a single letter for you, that could cost as little as a few hundred dollars.
If your case goes all the way to trial, it will probably cost many thousands of dollars, and if you end up needing to appeal, it could be much more.

If you go all the way to trial and win, the judge will make the other party pay some of your legal fees. But if you lose, the judge will make you pay some of the legal costs of the other party.

Why might I sue or threaten to sue?

You can’t sue on the basis that you were sexually harassed. That’s not a claim that civil court will accept. Instead, you have two main ways to make a claim.

Your employer responded to the harassment in a way that broke your employment agreement.

This is called wrongful dismissal or constructive dismissal.

Wrongful dismissal means you were fired without cause—without a valid reason, or without being given reasonable notice or pay instead of notice. If you got fired because your employer wanted to get rid of you rather than stop the harassment, you might be able to sue your employer for wrongful dismissal.

Constructive dismissal means that although your employer didn’t literally fire you, they effectively fired you, by making such big changes to your work that you might as well have been fired. The kinds of changes that count as constructive dismissal include things like a reduction in your work hours, a change in your work assignment, a pay cut, a demotion, or a suspension. If your employer made a change like that rather than dealing with the sexual harassment, you might be able to sue them for constructive dismissal.

Constructive dismissal can also include things your employer didn’t do. Your employer has an obligation to provide you with a workplace that’s free of harassment and discrimination. If you reported harassment and your employer didn’t handle it, you might have a case for constructive dismissal on that basis.

The harassment caused you loss or harm.

This is called a tort, which means it’s a claim that’s accepted in civil court. Torts that apply to sexual harassment include battery, intentional infliction of mental suffering, and negligence.

If you want to sue for the harm you suffered because of the harassment, that would be a tort. Here are the torts that most commonly apply to sexual harassment:

Battery is any direct, intentional, and physical interference with your body that is harmful or offensive. This tort protects your personal, physical autonomy. If you sue on this basis, you could be suing the harasser or your employer if the harasser is a senior officer of the company.
Intentional infliction of mental suffering recognizes that the harm might not be physical, but that, nonetheless, the harasser deliberately hurt you. For this kind of lawsuit, you have to prove that the harasser wanted to cause harm and prove the illness or symptoms that resulted. If you sue on this basis, you’d be suing the harasser or your employer if the harasser is a senior officer of the company.
Negligence means your employer failed to meet the standard of care that a reasonable person would have shown in the situation. In a harassment case, this could be a claim that they had a duty of care to protect you from the harm caused by the harasser, and that they didn’t live up to that duty. It could also be that your employer knew of a harasser’s conduct but ignored it. In these types of cases, you’d be suing your employer, not the harasser.

Tip

Lawyers who specialize in sexual harassment cases often find new ways to ask the court to hear cases of sexual harassment. A lawyer will help you figure out which kind of civil lawsuit makes sense in your situation.

What are the risks of taking legal action?

Lawsuits are adversarial, and if you sue the harasser or your employer, they may decide you’re their enemy and try to hurt you or damage your career.

The harasser might trash-talk you to other people, or try to hurt you physically, or be hostile in some other way.

If you are still working for your employer, they might try to punish you or fire you. That’s called a reprisal and it’s illegal. Your employer might also talk negatively about you to other people, or refuse to give you a good reference, or make your life unpleasant in other ways.

Lawsuits are public, which means people will know your private business.

Courts are open to the public, which means anyone can access the documents in the case and can sit in the courtroom and watch the trial. Once a decision has been made, it will be listed on public, searchable websites.

This means that private information about you—which might include, for example, information about your salary, medications you take, medical diagnoses you’ve received, and things you’ve said and done—will be available to anyone. If you want to see the kind of information that ends up getting published, you can read some court decisions:

You might be able to use a pseudonym if you can show that there’s a good reason to do this: that your mental health could suffer or you might not sue if you had to go public.

Lawsuits are expensive, and the harasser or your employer might deliberately behave in ways that increase your costs.

Many defendants use tactics to delay or prolong a case, such as filing motions, requesting lots of extra documents from you, refusing to hand over their documents, and changing lawyers. These can be strategic moves to drive up your legal costs so you either settle or drop your case altogether. This is called litigation bullying—it is very difficult to manage and adds extra stress and cost.

The harasser or your employer might sue you for defamation, which can also drive up your legal costs.

If you sue your employer or the harasser, they might start their own lawsuit against you for defamation, saying that your claims are untrue and are hurting their reputation, or causing loss of business or other financial damage. Defending against a defamation lawsuit is a whole other process and will increase your legal costs and stress, even if what you are being sued for isn’t true.

You might get nothing in the end.

It’s entirely possible you could go all the way through a long and expensive legal process, and in the end…lose. You could end up spending an enormous amount of time and money on the process, and needing to pay the legal costs of the other side. Even if you win, a harasser might not have any money to pay you. You could end up traumatized by the whole experience, and getting nothing out of it.

What to expect if you start a civil court action

Important

If you’re hoping to reach a settlement, it’s very likely the other party will insist you agree to sign a non-disclosure agreement, or NDA, that will prohibit you from talking about what happened. If you think you might not be willing to sign an NDA, it’s important to tell your lawyer early, because it may change your legal strategy.

The first step is that you get a lawyer, and the two of you figure out who you are targeting with your legal action, and on what basis.

Once you have that figured out, your lawyer might advise you to start with a demand letter, in hopes you can reach a settlement without ever needing to take formal legal action.

If the demand letter doesn’t work, you’ll need to decide whether to proceed with legal action. If you do, here’s how it works.

Your lawyer will write a statement of claim in which they describe what happened and say how it meets the elements of the legal test. Your lawyer will file this statement to the court, and send copies to everyone you are suing. Those people are called defendants because they are required to file a defence to your claim.

The defendants will then file a statement of defence describing the facts that they think matter to the case and will answer your claim. They will deliver it to you, also called serving it on you, or service.

These two documents are called the pleadings. Once these have been filed, the parties start a process called examination for discovery.

Discovery is like a pre-trial, though it doesn’t happen in a courtroom. It is an oral examination recorded by a court reporter in which you and the defendant reveal any evidence related to the case, even if it hurts your argument. The lawyer for the defendant will interview you, asking questions relevant to the case; your lawyer will interview the defendant. The lawyers will have already exchanged the documents that they are using to support their arguments and they may ask questions based on those documents. The information recorded in the discovery transcript may be used in the trail. The discovery process can take months or even years, depending how much evidence there is to go through.

At this point, your lawyer will be able to give you advice about how strong your case is. It’s also common at this stage for the parties to decide to try to reach a settlement through mediation, rather than going all the way to court.

During the mediation process you and the other party may be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. This agreement only applies to the discussions during the mediation. Any admissions or offers made then can’t be repeated in a hearing later, or talked about publicly. This isn’t a long-term ban as part of a settlement; it is a tool to create a period of open discussion during mediation.

Here, you might reach a settlement. Your lawyer will help you decide whether to accept it. They can’t tell you what to do, but they can help you understand your options.

If you don’t reach a settlement, the case goes on to trial.

During a trial, a judge will oversee the courtroom. They may decide the case, or either you or the defendant can request a jury trial. You will have to prove each aspect of your claim. You can bring evidence—witnesses or documents—to prove each fact. The harasser or employer will also get to bring their own evidence supporting their version of events. Each side gets to cross-examine the witnesses that the other side calls. The judge or jury hears all the evidence, and the legal arguments made by the lawyers, before making a decision.

Often the judge will first hear evidence about the facts and make a decision on whether the harassment happened and, if they decide it did, how much money you will receive. (This is called an award of damages.) This may take weeks or even months, depending how complicated the case is. If the trial is heard by a jury, they will decide immediately.

There are things the judge or jury can’t do. They can’t order your employer to fire the harasser, to give you your job back, to make the harasser apologize, or make your employer implement specific policies. If you want those kinds of remedies, a human rights body is a better bet.

How is small claims court different from civil court?

Small claims court is a slightly simpler and faster way of legally settling smaller lawsuits. The exact dollar amount you could be awarded in small claims court varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; the maximum ranges from $15,000 to $50,000. If you want to ask for damages that fall below this limit, you can start a small claims case. The process is a little less complicated and you can either represent yourself or, if you live in Ontario, hire a paralegal.

Because there are limits on costs awards at small claims, this means that you do not risk as big an award against you, if you lose your case. Small claims courts don’t make costs awards for the time you spend representing yourself—just for the amount you pay to a lawyer, and sometimes also your filing fees.

You might also use small claims court if you get an award from a human rights body or labour board, but the harasser hasn’t paid up. If the total amount is under the small claims ceiling in your province or territory, you can start a case to force them to pay. Before you do this, even in small claims, try sending a demand letter first. You can pay a lawyer to write this for you—an hour or two of legal help to send a demand letter could be a good investment.

What to expect at the end

Collecting the money

If you agree to a settlement or win at trial, it will be up to you to collect the money.

If you reach a settlement, this is usually easy. In this case, the other party has agreed to pay you a certain amount, and usually they will do it fairly quickly.

If you win at trial, though, collecting the money may be harder. You can start by sending a demand letter reminding the party of the judgment. If they don’t pay up, you can go back to the court and ask the court to force them to pay. This is another legal process and will take more time and cost you more money.

Confidentiality versus publicity

If you reach a settlement, the other party will almost always insist that you sign an NDA. (Unless you live in P.E.I. In 2022, P.E.I. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to ban NDAs in cases of sexual misconduct, harassment, and discrimination unless the affected person chooses to sign one.)

An NDA may seem like an unimportant detail, but it’s not. An NDA is a binding legal agreement, and if you sign it, you’ll be obligated to live up to what it says. If you don’t, you might end up having to pay back the money you got in the settlement, or you could be sued and forced to pay even more money.

Some people are happy to sign an NDA because they don’t plan on telling anyone about what happened to them anyway. Others would rather go to trial than agree to a settlement that requires an NDA.

It’s not uncommon for a person to sign an NDA and then come to regret it, years or even decades later.

Sometimes people realize later that they need to speak publicly about their experience in order to process it and heal from it.

Or they learn that the circumstances in which they signed the agreement weren’t exactly what they’d thought at the time. For example, lots of people sign an NDA assuming their harassment was an isolated incident, but some find out later that the harasser was actually harassing a lot of people. They may then want to speak up in support of other people who got harassed, and regret signing an agreement that says they can’t.

You can read stories of people who signed NDAs on this website that’s advocating for them to be banned in Canada.

If you’re willing to sign an NDA, it’s a good idea to think about whether there are people you might want to talk about your case with—like your partner or another family member or friend, a therapist, a health care professional, the police, or any other authority. If so, you should make sure your lawyer knows that, so they can ensure the NDA allows it. You should also make sure you understand whether those people are allowed to tell other people.

If you’re considering signing an NDA, definitely discuss it thoroughly with your lawyer first. They can help you understand the terms and decide whether you’re willing to agree to them, and also can negotiate changes.

If your case goes to trial, it’s simpler. Once a decision has been made, it will be listed on public, searchable websites. The judge can anonymize the decision by using only your initials instead of your full name. You may be able to do this if you can show that you would suffer emotional injury if you are publicly identified.

So, should I do it?

There’s no single right answer.

It depends on the facts of your case. It depends on who the harasser is and who your employer is. It depends on how much effort and money you’re willing to spend. It depends on whether you can afford to make an enemy of the harasser and your employer. It depends on how stressful you’re likely to find the experience, and whether the stress is worth the potential benefit to you.

That’s why we urge you to consult with a lawyer. They will listen to your story and help you understand what, in your specific circumstances, is realistically possible.