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When you’re being sexually harassed at work, there are a million things you could do. But they all boil down to one big decision.

You’re going to do one of these three things:

stay at work without making a formal complaint
formally report what’s happening to someone in a position of authority
quit your job and get a new one

Before we dive into the pros and cons of each choice, we want to tell you something.

You should feel it’s safe to trust your instincts. You are probably going to make the right decision for you.

How do we know that?

We’ve surveyed hundreds of people who’ve been sexually harassed. We’ve talked with dozens more. We’ve read hundreds, maybe thousands, of people’s stories on social media and in books and articles and academic studies.

We’ve learned that people handle sexual harassment in all kinds of different ways. We’ve also learned that most people end up feeling good about what they decided to do.

People may have regrets. But they don’t often regret how they handled the harassment. What they tend to regret is the amount of time they had to spend researching and worrying and agonizing before they could make a decision.

Our goal with this article is to give you information so you can evaluate your options. We want to help you shortcut through the worrying and agonizing phase, so you can move forward more quickly and with confidence.

So here we go. Here are your options.

Option 1: Stay at work and try to cope

This is what most people do, at least in the beginning, at least for a while.

Some don’t tell anyone what’s happening, but quietly take steps to try to keep themselves safe. Some use a whisper network to warn other people. Some talk directly with the harasser to try to make them stop. Some complain informally to their boss. Some try to ignore the harassment and instead stay focused on their own career and their own goals.

Why try to stay at work and cope?

If the harassment is relatively mild and doesn’t repeat, this can be a really good strategy. You get to keep your job, and nothing really changes for you work-wise.

Why not do it?

There’s always a risk the harassment will escalate and you could end up seriously hurt.

Even if that doesn’t happen, if the harassment is severe or lasts a long time, it can really hurt you. And we need to warn you: The damage isn’t always obvious at the time.

Harassment—especially when it’s severe or goes on for a really long time—can cause you all kinds of problems. It can make you enjoy your job less. It can distract you from your work in ways that make you less good at your job. It can make you anxious. It can lead you to self-medicate with drugs or alcohol. You can end up feeling betrayed, suspicious, and cynical about people. And if your job requires you to fake being okay with the harassment (like, if you need to laugh along with people’s “jokes,” or put up with slurs, or being touched, or repeatedly propositioned, or asked invasive questions)—well, that can really wear you down.

It’s also not fair. You deserve a job that’s free of harassment. You shouldn’t have to just suck it up and try to cope with it by yourself.

Staying at work is what people do if the harassment seems too mild to bother quitting or reporting, or if the job is just short term and they’re leaving soon anyway.

People also do it if they feel like they have no choice. If they don’t believe reporting will do any good, and they don’t want to find another job, or can’t—well, in those circumstances people will often try to stay and make their current job work.

For some people this works out fine.

But it’s risky. Some people do this, and then realize years or even decades later that the cumulative effects of the harassment were actually really grinding away at their mental health and their happiness—much more so than they realized at the time. Many do eventually choose to quit or report, and some wish they had done it sooner.

Option 2: Report the harassment

We’re using the word “report” here to mean making a formal complaint. Workplace sexual harassment is illegal, and so if you complain about it to a person in a position of authority, they are supposed to make it stop.

Depending on your situation, there are lots of different ways to make a complaint. You can go to the police. You can make a formal report to your employer. You can complain to your union. You can complain to a human rights body. You can take your employer to court. You can go public.

Why report?

In theory, this is the most obvious thing to do. You should be able to report the harassment, and then somebody should step in and make it stop.

Why not report?

Because often it just doesn’t work out the way it’s supposed to, and in fact it can actually create new, worse problems for you.

If you have a good employer, reporting can work out fine. You tell someone, they make the harassment stop, and that’s the end of it.

But that’s not what usually happens.

Often, what actually happens is that you make the report and end up getting labelled as a troublemaker or a problem because of it. People at your workplace react as though the real problem isn’t the harassment, but you, the person reporting it. (Yeah, we know. This sucks.) You end up getting punished. Your employer starts treating you badly, or fires you.

Some people, if they aren’t satisfied with how their employer handled their report, will carry it further—for example, by filing a complaint with a human rights body, or by taking their employer to court. These are expensive, slow processes, and researchers say they can be really hard on your mental health.

Who reports?

Two kinds of people. People who believe their employer will handle the report well. And people who believe the harassment is so serious that they must report it, even though they don’t think it will get handled well.

That’s not very many people.

Researchers have conducted hundreds of studies and surveys in Canada and other countries, going back to the 1970s, and they’ve all found the same thing: Most workplace sexual harassment is never formally reported. That’s always been true, and it’s still true today, even in the post-#MeToo era.

The people who report tend to be older. Even though harassment is most common in your twenties and early thirties, U.S. data finds that the average age of a person who reports is 47. Some researchers think that’s because older people are more likely to know how to report, or to be in a position where they think they can report and not get punished for it. Others think it’s because older people are just more fed up and angry, because they’ve been experiencing harassment for such a long time.

Researchers say that people who report harassment—and especially those who do it publicly—tend to do it for moral reasons. They’re furious. They don’t necessarily think reporting will do any good. They just feel like morally they have no choice.

Option 3: Quit your job

Lots of people end up quitting their job to get away from harassment. One study found that, two years after being harassed, four out of five people were working somewhere else.

Some people actually quit their entire industry. If you work in a harassment-heavy industry —like hospitality, or a majority-male environment like policing, construction, or software development—well, you might want to just get out of it. You might feel like you’d be better off in an industry where you don’t have to deal with being harassed all the time.

Why quit your job?

Because it works. Quitting your job is the fastest and most effective way to end the harassment. It gets you away from the harasser, and away from an unhealthy work environment. You may end up in a new job—or even a whole new career—where you don’t get harassed any more.

Why not quit your job?

Because you shouldn’t have to. You should be able to pick your work based on other reasons, like what jobs are available, what you’re good at, and what you enjoy doing. You shouldn’t have to pick your job based on how likely you are to be harassed while doing it.

Another bad thing about quitting: It can be surprisingly bad for you financially. The study that said it was common for people to have a new job after being harassed? It found that, in their new jobs, all those people were making less money.

Who quits their job?

People who aren’t very attached to their current job and can easily get another one. People who’ve been harassed for a long time, or are experiencing really severe harassment, and can’t find a way to make it stop. People who don’t want to report what’s happening, because they don’t trust their employer to handle it well.

So that’s it. Those are your options.

We want to say again: We believe you are going to handle this fine. You know yourself and your situation. You can trust yourself to handle this in the way that’s best for you.

We want to say one more thing: Sometimes when we talked with people, they told us they felt guilty about how they handled being harassed. They felt like they had made the right choice for them, but they felt bad that they didn’t do something that was “brave” or that would help other people. Some people said they felt pressure to “stand up for themselves” and “fight back,” and they felt bad they didn’t do that.

If you’re feeling that way, we urge you, please, to let it go.

All the choices are brave. Every decision is honourable.

If you need the permission of strangers on the internet telling you it’s okay to do what’s right for you, we are here to enthusiastically give you that permission.

We urge you to centre your own needs and interests and hopes and dreams and goals.

We urge you to make the decision that’s best for you.

Important

If you’re considering quitting your job, we urge you to talk with a lawyer first. A lawyer can help you figure out whether there’s a way to get your employer to pay you money to make up for the harassment.

Why quit your job

That’s easy. Quitting your job is the fastest and simplest way to stop the harassment and get out of an unhealthy workplace. It immediately reduces the risk that something really bad will happen to you. It’s the fastest way to shut down the whole problem and get on with your life.

Why not quit your job

Because you shouldn’t have to. Why should you have to leave your job, just because someone decided to harass you?

Who quits their job to get away from harassment

Mostly it’s two types of people. People who do work where it’s normal to change jobs a lot, and people who are facing really severe or long-term harassment.

Jobs where it’s normal to move around a lot

In some types of work, changing jobs a lot is normal. This is true in the hospitality sector (like bartending, serving, hosting), in retail jobs, in some kinds of sales and customer support work, and some kinds of personal or homecare support (like PSW or cleaning work).

Usually, these jobs don’t require too much specialized training, there’s lots of work available, the jobs are all pretty similar, and people often get new jobs through friend networks. That makes it easy to move around.

For people in jobs like that, quitting can be a pretty easy decision. Those people usually quit quickly and don’t say why they’re leaving.

Jobs where you’ve faced really severe or long-term harassment

When they get harassed, most people don’t quit right away. But if the harassment is very severe or goes on for a long time, most people will eventually quit. This is especially true for jobs and workplaces where there’s a lot of harassment, like industries with lots of male customers and clients (like hospitality) or where the workforce is mostly men (like construction or law enforcement or software development). It’s also true for racialized people in majority-white workplaces, and queer people in workplaces where they’re in the minority.

For people in those jobs, quitting can be a really hard decision. By the time they quit, they are much more likely to tell their employer why they’re leaving (or their employer already knows), and they are much likelier to leave on bad terms.

How to know when to quit

We couldn’t find any studies or surveys that asked people who’d quit due to harassment how they felt about it afterwards. But based on the people we’ve interviewed and stories we’ve read, it seems like most people don’t regret quitting.

Some people, though, do wish they’d quit sooner.

So we think that, if you’re seriously considering quitting your job because of harassment, you should probably go ahead and do it. The question really isn’t whether to quit, it’s how to quit in a way that’s best for your career.

How to quit in a way that protects your career

If you want to quit and it’s easy for you, then you should just do it. Find yourself a new job and get out of the old one. Don’t tell people why you’re quitting, just make up an excuse. That way, you can leave on good terms and nobody will gossip about you.

If your situation is more complicated though, then quitting will be more complicated too.

In that case, here’s our advice.

Try not to quit until you have another job lined up

If you’re afraid for your safety, you might need to just flat-out quit. But if it’s safe to stay, you should try to stick it out until you have a new job. Here’s an article that explains why.

Start job hunting early, before you think you need to

A lot of people don’t start job hunting until they’re already pretty stressed out. So we urge you to start job hunting early, even if you’re not sure yet that you’re going to quit. You don’t want to job hunt in a rush or while you’re super-stressed, because that’ll make it hard for you to find a good job. So the minute you start to even start to think about quitting, that’s when we think you should start looking for a new job.

Be careful what you say about why you’re leaving your current job

It can be tough to know what to say in interviews about why you’re looking for a new job.

Before you accept a new job, evaluate it as though you weren’t being harassed

A lot of times when people job hunt due to sexual harassment, they end up accepting a new job that’s worse than their old one. It pays less, the benefits are worse, or there are just things about it that suit them less well. Before you accept a new job, take some time to consider whether you’d be accepting it if you weren’t being harassed.

Talk with a lawyer before you quit

This is really important. If you’re considering quitting your job due to harassment, your employer might be legally obligated to pay you money if they didn’t do enough to make the harassment stop, or if they punished you for complaining about it. A lawyer can help you figure this out.

Consider whether you want to leave not just your job, but your entire industry

If you work in a high-harassment industry, you might be just as likely to get harassed in your next job as you were in your current one. Once people realize how harassment-heavy their industry is, it’s actually really common for them to decide to completely bail out of it. It’s so common we wrote an entire article about it.

A final note about guilt and shame

When we talked with people and read their stories, we found that lots of people who quit their job to get away from sexual harassment felt guilty about it afterwards. They worried that by quitting they were being cowards, and letting down other people.

We understand why people feel that way. But we want to give you a different way to think about it.

The reality is that “standing up” and “fighting back” might not be what’s best for you. There’ve been literally decades of studies and surveys about exactly this. Sometimes reporting works out fine for the person who does it. But more often, the person who reports is the one who ends up getting punished. Researchers have been saying for decades that not reporting is a rational and sensible decision.

So here’s what we want you to know.

There is no “cowardly” way to respond to sexual harassment.

There is no reason for you to feel guilty or ashamed.

Nobody thinks you should become a martyr over this. Nobody wants your career, your reputation, and your finances to be ruined.

You have every right to do what’s best for you, and you should feel good about what you do, no matter what it is.

Any choice you make is brave and honourable.

You’ll want to start by finding out whether you have any agreement with your employer that gives you more than the legal minimum time off.

If you’re not unionized, you may have signed an employment contract when you were hired.
If you are unionized, the contract is your collective agreement and you should be able to get a copy from your union or find it on their website.

If there’s an agreement, see what it says about time off. You’re looking for phrases like “sick leave” and “stress leave.”

If you can’t find anything saying you’re entitled to more than the legal minimum, the next step is to figure out what the legal minimum is for you.

Under B.C. employment law, most workers are entitled to five paid sick days a year.
Under Quebec employment law, most workers are entitled to two paid sick days a year.
Under P.E.I. employment law, most workers are entitled to one paid sick day per year.
Under the Canada Labour Code, federally regulated workers are entitled to three paid sick days per year.
Most workers across the country are entitled by law to between three and 12 unpaid sick days per year, depending on where they’re located and how long they have worked for their employer.
None of this applies to people who aren’t legally classified as employees, such as self-employed people, migrant workers, and gig economy workers. They aren’t entitled to anything.

You should also check whether your job provides you with any form of disability insurance. According to a 2018 government study, about 42% of Canadian employees have disability insurance. But employers are not legally obligated to provide it, so yours may not.

You should be able to get your benefits information from HR, the union, or your boss. You don’t need to say why you’re asking for it; it’s normal for workers to want to know it.

Decide what to do

Now you know what you’re entitled to, you can decide whether it covers what you need.

If it doesn’t, your employer may be willing to work with you to give you unpaid leave.

If not, there are other ways you can apply for paid or unpaid leave. But we need to warn you: They’re all going to take a lot of work. They’re all very slow. And you may get turned down. That’s the upshot.

Now we’ll dive into the details.

You can usually take sick leave any time, as long as you tell your boss beforehand. You can’t be fired, penalized, or threatened for taking or planning to take sick leave.
Your employer may require a doctor’s note.
Sick or stress leave maximums are pretty short—the average max is about six days total per year.
If you have access to short-term disability, it generally runs for up to six months and pays a portion of your salary. How much depends on what type of policy your employer has. To qualify, you’ll need a doctor’s statement that you are unable to return to work. Accessing short-term disability is slow and difficult, and your claim may be turned down.
Long-term disability insurance picks up after six months and generally pays 60% to 70% of your former salary. This benefit can extend to retirement age, but only if you are unable to work at any job. Accessing long-term disability insurance will require extensive medical documentation and, again, you may be turned down.
If you don’t have access to short-term or long-term disability, you might consider applying for the Employment Insurance sickness benefit, which provides up to 15 weeks of income. To be eligible, you must have paid EI premiums and worked 600 hours in the past 52 weeks. In 2022, EI sickness benefits paid 55% of earnings up to a maximum of $638 a week. You will need medical proof you can’t work, and your claim may be denied.

The headline here is simple. It’s a good idea to keep notes about what’s happening.

Why? There are lots of situations in which having notes might be helpful for you later:

if you decide to formally report the harassment to your employer
if you decide to take legal action, or to call the police
if you end up in therapy
if you end up going public
if you just want your own private record

You may never use your notes for anything, but it’s a good idea to have them just in case.

Important

If you end up in a legal dispute, the lawyers on the other side may be able to force you to share your notes with them. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s possible. If there’s any chance you might end up in court, it’s best to make the notes knowing that other people may eventually see them. If there’s something you definitely don’t want other people to see, it’s safest not to write it down.

Here’s how to make great documentation.

Write your documentation in whatever way is easiest for you

Some people use their phone or a computer and other people write by hand. It’s probably best to use a device that you own, and to keep your notes somewhere where other people can’t find them.

If you write your notes on a work computer, it’s a good idea to email them to your personal email address. That way you’ll always have a copy, and you’ll be able to prove when the notes were written.

Write down the facts of what happened

For each incident of harassment, write down all the facts you can remember. This is called a log. You’ll want to include:

the date and time
the location
who was present (including any witnesses)
what happened, with as much detail as possible
if you told anyone afterward, and what you both said
if the harasser told anyone afterward, and what they said (if you know)

If you can remember any exact quotes, it’s great to write them down too.

If there’s anything you can’t remember, that’s okay. Partial information is better than no information. Just do the best you can.

Write down how what happened affected you

It’s not always easy to recognize how sexual harassment made you feel. But try to write down the emotions you felt at the time, or afterward.

Were you surprised or shocked?
Did you feel offended, angry, or humiliated?
Did you feel unsafe?
Were you scared you would be punished if you didn’t do what the harasser wanted?

There is no right or wrong emotional reaction. If your feelings don’t match what you’ve seen in the media or what other people seem to expect you to feel, that’s okay. What happened to you is wrong regardless of your emotional reaction.

Write down how what happened affected your ability to do your job

Did you need to spend time trying to make the harassment stop, instead of doing your job?
Did you need to stop working and leave the area to get away from the harasser?
Did you need to take time afterward to calm down?
Did the harasser make it harder for you to do your job, by not co-operating with you or helping you in the way they’re supposed to?
Did you need to spend time afterward trying to figure out how to handle the harassment and what to do next?
Did other people stop co-operating with you or helping you because of the harassment?
Were you humiliated in front of other people, making it harder for you to do your job?
Did your job performance suffer because you were rattled by the harassment?
Did you need to avoid the harasser afterward, making it harder for you to do your work?
Did your job become so unpleasant that you found yourself unable to work as hard or as well as you normally would have?

Write down any other harms you experienced because of the harassment

Was it hard for you to do normal things afterward, like eating or sleeping?
Did you have any physical symptoms of stress, and, if so, what were they?
Did your mental health suffer, and, if so, in what ways?
Did you end up needing to spend money because of the harassment? (Like, if you needed to park somewhere more expensive to feel safe, or spend money on therapy.)
Did your ability to earn money suffer because of the harassment? (Like, if you needed to turn down work, or accept worse shifts.)

Keep copies of any evidence you have

It’s a great idea to keep copies of any evidence you might have. Here are the kinds of things you should be thinking about keeping:

emails
text messages
phone call logs
pictures
original documents

If the harasser has been harassing you by email, keep copies of those emails. If you have emailed with other people about the harassment, keep those too. Do the same with text messages.

If the harasser has been phoning you repeatedly, take screenshots of your phone call log.

If the harasser has been putting up harassing materials in the workplace (porn, signs, or other things), take pictures of them with your phone.

If there are other original documents available to you, like work schedules that show you are being denied shifts, either keep them or take photos of them.

A safety plan might seem unnecessary. But it can really help. It can be hard to think clearly when someone is harassing you, so it’s important to think through what you’ll do beforehand. Even if your plan ends up seeming really basic and obvious, it will help you prepare to handle yourself well.

A safety plan can be essentially whatever you think you may need. It could be a 42-page printed document that you carry around with you. Or it could be just a few steps that you take now to make yourself ready – for example by talking to a few people and putting some numbers into your phone.

Tip

If you want help making a safety plan, call any sexual assault centre. You can find them here.

Tip

If your circumstances at work change in a way that affects your plan, don’t forget to update it.

Things to consider for your plan

Contact information for people you might need to reach quickly, like a boss or supervisor, HR, building security, local police, taxi services, or a friend who lives nearby. Make sure all this information is in your phone.
Contact information for someone who can drop you off or pick you up, so you don’t have to arrive or leave work alone.
Names of people at work you trust, who you can talk with about what’s happening.
A list of tasks that you feel safe completing, so you can volunteer for them when you feel unsafe. Also, a list of tasks that you don’t feel safe completing. For example, you might not be comfortable taking trash outside or being anywhere alone. If you’re asked to do something you don’t feel safe doing, you can be ready to suggest an alternative that does feel safe.
The harasser’s name and what they look like, in case you need to tell security, a friend, or the police. If you have their phone number, put it in your contacts so you know it’s them if they text or call.
What the harasser’s vehicle looks like so you can tell if they follow you home. Write down the make, model, colour, and licence plate.
The safest entrances and exits to your workplace. Learn how to open windows so you can yell for help or escape.
A plan for what you’ll do if the harasser’s behaviours escalate. You might decide to quit your job, call the police, or to talk with your employer.

Other things you can consider to keep yourself safe

Consider talking with the harasser directly.
Consider talking with your employer.
See if you can get your work hours changed so you don’t work at the same time as the harasser, or alone with them.
Avoid socializing with the harasser, especially by yourself and especially if alcohol is involved.
Search your phone’s app store for personal safety apps. They offer a range of functionality to help you stay safe, like fake calls you can schedule to get yourself out of uncomfortable situations, or panic buttons that send your location to friends.
Confide in co-workers you trust so they know what’s going on and can help you, for example by distracting or shutting down the harasser.
Set up code words with friends at work that they can use to warn you if the harasser’s approaching, or that you can use to tell them you need help.
Befriend the security guards at your work. Learn their names and make sure they know yours.
See if you can move to a different work location—for example, to be further away from the harasser or the men’s washroom. Or, move closer to common areas so that you are less likely to be alone.
Keep a journal about the harasser’s behaviours. Write down anything negative that happens. Include dates, times, and the names of co-workers who were present.
Ask your boss to install security cameras and to let everyone at work know they’re there. It’s better for the harasser to know that they will be caught and not harass you at all than for them to be caught in the act.
Keep your phone with you, and keep it charged. If cell reception is terrible, ask for a walkie-talkie that connects you to someone on duty.
Note the nearest exit when you enter a room.
Check bathrooms and elevators before going in.
Ask a security guard to walk you to your car or the transit stop.
If you drive, keep your car doors locked. When you get to your car, only open the driver’s door.
Park in well-lit areas near safe entrances.
Be aware of your mental health, and take steps to keep yourself healthy.
Build a strong support network. Even if you already have a good group of friends and family, it can really help to seek support from professionals and from other people who’ve been harassed.

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

We’ll start with some background.

What is the Canada Labour Code, who does it protect, and what does it require from employers?

If you work for a federally regulated workplace in any province in Canada, or work for certain private employers in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, or Yukon, there are a few laws that offer you protection from sexual harassment at work.

The Canada Labour Code and its regulations, the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations, are all about safety in workplaces. They are federal laws that protect workers from all sorts of hazards at work, including violence and harassment. Part II of the Canada Labour Code deals with harassment. Under the regulations, your employer is required to have a policy saying how they prevent, deal with, and investigate sexual harassment and workplace violence.

The Canadian Human Rights Act says that sexual harassment is against the law. It protects people from discrimination and harassment based on specific grounds, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Under the act, your employer is required to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.

The Canada Labour Code, the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations and the Canadian Human Rights Act work together to protect you from sexual harassment.

Your employer has responsibilities under all of these laws.

Do the Canada Labour Code and the Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations apply in your situation?

There are two categories of workplaces that are affected by the code—the private and public sectors:

Federally regulated private sectors are:

banks, including authorized foreign banks
airports, air transportation (e.g., Air Canada, WestJet)
interprovincial/international transportation (e.g., 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 (e.g., 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’re employed 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.

The Canada Labour Code covers workers in federally regulated workplaces. That includes:

employees (including your boss and co-workers)
anyone who gets paid for providing services, including independent contractors
anyone who isn’t paid, but who completes work for an employer with the main purpose of gaining knowledge or experience, including interns and volunteers (i.e., those taking part in a co-op job, job shadow, a research project, fieldwork, or an internship)

Who is not covered by the Canada Labour Code?

The Canada Labour Code does not apply to:

individuals who work in provincially regulated workplaces. These people are protected by provincial human rights acts and labour codes

Does the Canada Labour Code cover sexual harassment related to your work that’s happening outside the workplace?

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

What does the Canada Labour Code require from an employer?

The Canada Labour Code requires employers to make it clear that sexual harassment will not be tolerated and to have a plan for responding to reports. If someone makes a complaint, the code requires employers to conduct an investigation and take steps to make the workplace safe.

The Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations require all employers to have sexual harassment policies and programs. This is often a single document.

The workplace policy says how your employer will prevent or reduce the risk of workplace harassment and violence. It also says how complaints can be made and how the employer will investigate complaints. The program is the more detailed plan of how the policy is put into practice. It describes how to report workplace harassment and violence and the process for responding to complaints.

Employers must create a general health and safety program about the prevention of hazards in the workplace and the education of employees on health and safety issues. Employers must also ensure that the policies and programs are made available to all employees.

If there is no workplace program/policy at your employer, or if they aren’t following it, you can make a complaint to the Labour Program.

See a sample workplace harassment policy and program.

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

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

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

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

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

Important

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

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

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

How to report

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

You should report verbally and, ideally, face-to-face, not just in writing. But if you want, you can bring something you’ve written and leave it with them. This can be a good idea if you’re worried there are things you may forget to say, or if you think they may mishear or misunderstand you. Keep a written record of what you report, when you report, and to whom you report. A written complaint can also be used as evidence if there is ever a dispute over whether you did actually report the harassment and when.

What happens after you report

After you report, your employer must respond to your complaint within seven days. In their response they need to explain several things, including how you can find the workplace harassment and violence policy and each step of the complaint resolution process. You and your employer will then have to meet to see if you can resolve what happened through a negotiation process. If this doesn’t work for you, you can take part in a conciliation process and/or an investigation.

In conciliation, you and the harasser both have to agree to take part. Conciliation involves an outside third party helping you and your employer to resolve your dispute.

In an investigation, your employer hires an investigator to determine whether you were sexually harassed and to make recommendations to the employer on how to address the situation.

The investigator can be someone from within the workplace or outside it
They are supposed to be objective—not on your side or the harasser’s side.
They are supposed to follow the employer’s workplace harassment policy.
They are supposed to understand the Canada Labour Code and its regulations.

Some investigations may only take a day, while others may take months. There is no set timeline under the Canada Labour Code for how long the investigation should take, but your employer may have internal policies about timelines.

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

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

Important

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

How to prepare to be interviewed

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

There may be other people there. If your workplace has a Policy Health and Safety Committee, a Work Place Health and Safety Committee, or a Joint Health and Safety Committee, its worker representative may take part in the investigation process if you are refusing to work because of the harassment. If there is a health and safety rep, they will be there. There may be someone there solely to take notes.

Tip

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

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

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

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

How to handle yourself during the interview

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

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

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

Call the Labour Program. If it agrees that your situation is covered by the Canada Labour Code, it may order your employer to investigate.
Contact your union.
Contact your workplace health and safety rep.

What if the investigator seems biased?

The investigator is supposed to be fair and unbiased. But they aren’t always. If you’re concerned that the investigator is biased, you can contact the Labour Program. If they agree, they have the power to order a new investigation.

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

If that happens, you can contact the Labour Program, and they can order your employer to conduct a new or better investigation. Or you can contact your union or workplace health and safety rep.

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

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

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

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

What if I get punished for reporting?

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

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

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

What happens once the investigation is over?

The investigation report informs the employer whether the investigator believes sexual harassment occurred and recommends actions to maintain a safe workplace.

If the harasser is an employee, the investigator may suggest termination, transfer, suspension, or reprimand. They might also propose workplace changes, such as shift adjustments, policy updates, or education. After receiving the report, the employer must meet with the Work Place Health and Safety Committee or representative to decide which recommendations to implement. They have one year to act on accepted recommendations.

The employer must provide a written summary of the investigation results to both parties, though no set timeline exists. However, they must give monthly updates on recommendation implementation.

Employers are not required to follow recommendations or seek the employee’s input. They may resolve issues through alternative dispute resolution, work adjustments (with employee consent), or compensation agreements, often including a non-disclosure clause.

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

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

The Labour Program may send its own inspector to review the situation and can fine your of order them to take steps to comply with the Canada Labour Code. It will not give you any type of financial award or take over the sexual harassment investigation.
The Canadian Human Rights Commission hears cases where there’s been a violation of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The commission can award damages. See How to decide whether to file a human rights complaint.
You may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against your employer. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You must start a civil suit within two years of the harassment.
Your union, if you have one, might decide to bring a grievance against your employer for the way they failed to handle your report. See Working with your union.
If your work environment has gotten worse, it may seem poisoned, creating intolerable employment conditions. You may be able to claim constructive dismissal. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do).

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

We’ll start with some background.

What is the law, who does it protect, and what does it require from employers?

There are two laws that offer you protection from psychological and sexual harassment at work.

The Act Respecting Labour Standards (ARLS) states that you have the right to a workplace free of harassment. This means that your employer must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in your workplace, including having a harassment prevention policy, and put an end to it in the workplace as soon as they become aware of the situation.

The Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms prohibits discriminatory harassment, which includes sexual harassment, based on any of the grounds it lists, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. It is your employer’s responsibility to see that your rights under the charter are protected.

The ARLS and the charter work together to protect you from sexual harassment.

Your employer has responsibilities under both these laws.

Does the ARLS apply in your situation?

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

The ARLS covers most workers who get paid for providing services (including independent contractors).

Who in Quebec is not covered by the ARLS protections against psychological and sexual harassment?

These are the exceptions of people working in Quebec who aren’t covered by the ARLS:

The ARLS doesn’t apply to self-employed workers.
The ARLS doesn’t apply to federally regulated workplaces (except caisses populaires). People in those industries are protected by the Canada Labour Code.
The ARLS does not apply to non-unionized public service or public agency service workers. People in those sectors are protected by the Commission de la fonction publique.
The ARLS doesn’t apply to volunteers. (But that doesn’t mean volunteers can’t report sexual harassment; they absolutely can. It just means the employer may not be obligated to carry out a full investigation.)

Does the ARLS cover psychological and sexual harassment related to your work that’s happening outside the workplace?

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

If you’re sexually harassed at a work event, while you’re working at home or online, while you’re travelling for your job, or even if a co-worker harasses you outside of work hours, your employer is responsible for taking steps to ensure your safety.

What are employers required to do regarding workplace harassment?

Quebec law requires employers to have a harassment prevention and complaint processing policy. Employers must also make the policy available and known to all employees.

The workplace harassment policy should include:

the employer’s obligations and commitments
a specific section on sexual harassment
expectations for employees
how the employer will intervene to resolve an incident of harassment
what the employer must consider in assessing an incident of harassment (e.g., confidentiality, persons involved, etc.)

See a sample workplace harassment policy (French).

If there is no policy at your workplace or if your employer isn’t following it, you can file a complaint with the Commission des normes de l’équité de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST): 1-844-838-0808.

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

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

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

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

Important

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

How to report

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

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

What happens after you report

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

The investigator may be a single person or a committee from within your workplace or outside it.
They are supposed to be objective. Not on your side or the harasser’s side.
They are supposed to follow the employer’s workplace harassment policy.
They are supposed to understand the ARLS.

Some investigations may only take a day, while others may take months.

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

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

Important

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

How to prepare to be interviewed

The harasser will be questioned, and so will any witnesses. If there are people you know witnessed the sexual harassment that you experienced, you can provide the investigator with their names and contact information. However, it is up to the investigator to decide who to meet with and question during the investigation.

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

Tip

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

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

How to handle yourself during the interview

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

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

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

Contact the CNESST labour standards division if you’re not unionized (1-844-838-0808).
Contact your union.
Contact your workplace health and safety rep.

What if the investigator seems biased?

The investigator is supposed to be fair and unbiased. But they aren’t always. If you’re concerned that the investigator is biased, you can contact the CNESST. If it agrees, it has the power to order a new investigation.

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

If that happens, you can contact the CNESST if you’re not unionized, and it can order your employer to conduct a new or better investigation.

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

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

If that happens, you should tell your employer. They are supposed to protect you against any harassment that might happen as a result of your report. Or you can report it to the CNESST if you’re not unionized.

What if I get punished for reporting?

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

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

What happens once the investigation is over

The investigation report tells the employer whether the investigator thinks sexual harassment happened and may contain recommendations as to how your employer can correct the situation.

Your employer must share a summary of the findings with you, but they are not required to tell you about any measures they put in place or the steps they take regarding the harasser. They are also not required to follow any of the inspector’s recommendations.

How your employer deals with the harasser if they are an employee will depend on what your workplace’s prevention policy says about disciplinary measures. You will not be consulted about how the harasser will be disciplined.

Your employer may propose making changes in your working situation—only if you agree; otherwise, that could be a reprisal. They may offer you things like: a specific amount of leave, which could be paid or unpaid; a gradual return to work after a sick leave; or some compensation for medical expenses not covered by provincial insurance. Usually, if you make this kind of agreement, the employer also makes you agree to not talk publicly by signing a non-disclosure agreement about any of the details of the incident and the settlement.

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

If your employer chooses to do nothing about the harassment, they aren’t meeting their duties under the Act Respecting Labour Standards and the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Here are some things you might do. First, though, consider consulting a lawyer. If you are not unionized, a public employee, or a federally regulated employee, you can file a complaint with the CNESST Labour Standards division (1-844-838-0808). Successful outcomes can include financial compensation, reimbursement of legal fees or lost wages, reinstatement if you quit or were fired as a result of the harassment, or a commitment to stop the offending behaviour. You must file a complaint within two years of the last incident of harassment.

If you are unionized, you must take your complaint to your union. It can decide to bring a grievance against your employer for the way they failed to handle your report. It’s important that you speak with your union as soon as possible, as there may be a deadline to file a grievance, depending on your union’s collective agreement. See Working with your union.
The Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse hears cases where there’s been a violation of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. The commission can award reimbursement for financial losses and damages.
You may be able to bring a civil suit against your employer, See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You must start a civil suit within two years of the harassment.
If your work environment has gotten worse, it may seem poisoned, creating intolerable employment conditions. You may be able to claim constructive dismissal. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do).

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

We’ll start with some background.

What is the law, who does it protect, and what does it require from employers

In Nunavut, there are two laws that protect you if you’ve experienced sexual harassment.

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

The Nunavut Human Rights Act says that harassment based on prohibited grounds is against the law. It protects people from discrimination and harassment based on specific grounds, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Under the act, your employer is required to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.

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

Your employer has responsibilities under both these laws.

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

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

Under the Safety Act and OHSR, a worker is any person engaged in work for an employer. This covers both the people working for pay and those working without pay, like volunteers. A worker is any of the following:

an employee
someone who gets paid for providing services (including independent contractors)
unpaid high school students doing work as part of a work experience program (co-op, job shadowing, placements, etc.)
unpaid college or university students, new graduates or people on work placements like co-ops, research projects, fieldwork, internships for professional licences under a college or university or another postsecondary institution
volunteers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

See a sample workplace sexual harassment policy (page 24).

A program is a more detailed plan of how the policy is put into practice. If your workplace has 20 employees or more, your employer is supposed to create and maintain an occupational health and safety program. Your employer should review the program, and, if necessary, revise it at least every three years. Employers with a smaller number of workers may also be required to develop a program.

Depending on the workplace, your employer may also have to have a violence policy. An employer is required to develop a written policy at a workplace where violence has occurred in the past or could reasonably be expected to occur.

Harassment and violence policies must be reviewed and, if necessary, revised at least once every three years.

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

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

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

Important

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

How to report

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

What happens after you report

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

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

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

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

Important

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

How to prepare to be interviewed

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

Tip

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

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

How to handle yourself during the interview

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

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

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

Contact your union.
Contact your workplace health and safety rep.

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

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

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

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

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

What if I get punished for reporting?

What happens once the investigation is over

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

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

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

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

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

The Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal hears cases where there’s been a violation of the Human Rights Act. The tribunal can award damages. See How to decide whether to file a human rights complaint.
You may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against your employer. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You must start a civil suit within two years of the harassment.
Your union, if you have one, might decide to bring a grievance against your employer for the way they failed to handle your report. See Working with your union.
If your work environment has gotten worse, it may seem poisoned, creating intolerable employment conditions. You may be able to claim constructive dismissal. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do).

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

We’ll start with some background.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your employer has responsibilities under all of these laws.

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

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

The OHSR covers most workers. That includes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The workplace harassment policy is supposed to describe:

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

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

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

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

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

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

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

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

Important

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

How to report

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

What happens after you report

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

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

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

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

Important

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

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

How to prepare to be interviewed

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

Tip

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

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

How to handle yourself during the interview

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

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What if I get punished for reporting?

What happens once the investigation is over

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

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

The Northwest Territories Human Rights Commission hears cases where there’s been a violation of the Northwest Territories Human Rights Act. The commission can award damages. See How to decide whether to file a human rights complaint.
You may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against your employer. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You must start a civil suit within two years of the harassment.
Your union, if you have one, might decide to bring a grievance against your employer for the way they failed to handle your report. See Working with your union.
If your work environment has gotten worse, it may seem poisoned, creating intolerable employment conditions. You may be able to claim constructive dismissal. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do).

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

We’ll start with some background.

What is the OHSA, who does it protect, and what does it require from employers?

Tip

OHSA is usually pronounced oh-shah, even though it’s not spelled that way. It rhymes with Scotia.

In New Brunswick, there are two laws that offer you protection from sexual harassment at work.

The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) is all about safety in workplaces. It’s the law in New Brunswick that protects workers from all sorts of hazards at work, including violence and harassment. Under the OHSA’s General Regulation your employer is required to have a code of practice saying how they deal with and investigate harassment and workplace violence.

The New Brunswick Human Rights Act says that sexual harassment is against the law in the context of employment, housing, accommodation and services, and professional, business and trade associations. Under the act, your employer is required to prevent and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace.

The OHSA and the Human Rights Act work together to protect you from sexual harassment.

Your employer has responsibilities under both these laws.

Does the OHSA apply in your situation?

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

The OHSA covers most workers. That includes:

employees
people at the place of employment (like contractors, customers, volunteers, etc.)

Who in New Brunswick is not covered by the OHSA?

These are the exceptions of people working in New Brunswick who aren’t covered by the OHSA:

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

If you aren’t sure if the OHSA applies to you, you can ask WorkSafeNB.

Does the OHSA cover sexual harassment related to your work that’s happening outside the workplace?

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

What does the OHSA require from an employer?

The OHSA requires employers to make it clear that harassment will not be tolerated, and to have a plan for responding to reports. The OHSA requires the employer have a harassment code of practice. Think of it as a guide for how harassment or violence will be dealt with and what to expect if you report harassment at work.

The code of practice says how complaints can be made and how the employer will investigate them.

The code of practice is supposed to describe:

who is responsible for carrying out the code of practice
how your employer will investigate and document harassment
how your employer will take corrective action
how you will be informed of the results of an investigation
the followup steps the employer will take.

If there is no code of practice at your workplace or if your employer isn’t following it, you can report that to WorkSafeNB (1-800-999-9775). Note: spellcheck is interfering with this link

See a sample code of practice.

Okay. Now you know the basics.

Now we’ll tell you how to actually report.

Getting ready to report

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

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

Important

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

How to report

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

You should report verbally and, ideally, face-to-face, not just in writing. Bring something you’ve written and leave it with them. This can be a good idea if you’re worried there are things you may forget to say, or if you think they may mishear or misunderstand you.

What happens after you report

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

The investigator can be someone from within the workplace or outside it.
They are supposed to be objective and neutral. Not on your side, or the harasser’s side.
They are supposed to follow the employer’s workplace harassment code of practice.

Some investigations may only take a day, while others may take months.

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

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

Important

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

How to prepare to be interviewed

Tip

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

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

How to handle yourself during the interview

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

Things that can go wrong and how to handle them

What if my employer ignores my report?

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

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

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

If that happens, you can contact your union or workplace health and safety rep.

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

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

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

What if I get punished for reporting?

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

What happens once the investigation is over

The investigation report tells the employer whether the investigator thinks sexual harassment happened.

Your employer must inform you and the harasser about the results of the investigation. This can be verbally or in writing. They don’t have to ask your opinion about what they should do. If they end up punishing the harasser, they may or may not tell you about it.

Your employer may address the issue differently, such as changing your work situation with your consent, offering dispute resolution, or negotiating compensation. Settlement agreements often include non-disclosure clauses.

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

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

If you’re not unionized, the same complaint of sexual harassment can be included in an application to the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission. It hears cases where there’s been a violation of the Human Rights Act. The commission can award damages. See How to decide whether to file a human rights complaint.

You may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against your employer. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do). You must start a civil suit within two years of the harassment.
Your union, if you have one, might decide to bring a grievance against your employer for the way they failed to handle your report. See Working with your union.
If your work environment has gotten worse, it may seem poisoned, creating intolerable employment conditions. You may be able to claim constructive dismissal. See How to decide whether to take legal action (and what to expect if you do).