Every employer is required to implement a policy to prevent harassment in the workplace.

Harassment can lead to stress, ill health and sometimes injury. When it does occur, harassment is a serious problem.

Since 1993, Saskatchewan has addressed workplace harassment in The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, by requiring employers to protect staff from workplace harassment as much as is reasonably possible. The Act also requires workers to refrain from causing or participating in the harassment of another worker. As at October 1, 2007 the definition of harassment has been expanded as discussed below.

In addition, section 36 of The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996 requires all employers in Saskatchewan to develop and implement a written harassment policy that meets the requirements of that section to deal with complaints of harassment.

As at October 1, 2007 harassment means any inappropriate conduct, comment, display, action or gesture by a person, that constitutes a threat to the health or safety of a worker and that falls into one of two categories.

The first category has existed in the definition of harassment since 1993 and is harassment based on race, creed, religion, colour, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, disability, physical size or weight, age, nationality, ancestry or place of origin.

The second category is harassment that adversely affects the worker's psychological or physical well-being and that the person knows or ought reasonably know would cause a worker to be humiliated or intimidated. Under this category the harassment must:

• Involve repeated action or display, OR
• Involve a single, serious occurrence that has been established to have caused a lasting harmful effect on a worker, AND
• Not be any reasonable action that is taken by an employer or supervisor relating to the management and direction of the employer's workers or the place of employment.

An employer has two principle responsibilities.

The first is to develop and implement a written harassment policy that meets the requirements of section 36 of the regulations. The purpose of policy is to create a process in the workplace to receive and resolve complaints of harassment and prevent harassment.

The second is to ensure as much as is reasonably practicable that the employer's workers are not exposed to harassment. If a worker is being harassed they must take reasonably practicable action to stop the harassment and prevent its recurrence. The Act and regulations do not state how the employer needs to accomplish this, but common solutions involve:

• Providing awareness training to workers on respectful communications and conflict resolution
• Engaging the services of a mediator or person trained in conflict resolution
• Changes to workplace procedures or policies to minimize either conflict or potentially harassing encounters
• Imposing discipline where appropriate

Under the OHS Act an employer cannot be directed to compensate a worker for damages or harm they may have suffered because of the harassment. For further information on compensation, workers should contact the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission.

There are a number of avenues you can take if you believe you are being harassed in the course of your employment. They include:

• Speaking with the person who is the cause of the harassment. They may not appreciate that their conduct or display is offensive to you. Personally informing them of your feelings may put an end to the matter. However there may be instances where this option is clearly not appropriate.
• Notifying your supervisor or other manager. They should assist you in using the employer's harassment policy to make your complaint and initiate the process towards resolution.
• Contacting the Occupational Health and Safety Division for assistance.

You may also wish to contact the Saskatchewan Human Right's Commission but they are limited in the types of harassment they deal with. Your union or other employee association may also be contacted for assistance.

If it appears that the matters you complain of fall within the definition of harassment, you will be asked to complete a harassment questionnaire. Upon return of the questionnaire the Officer may determine that the matter does not fall within matters regulated by the Act or regulations. In that case the Officer will inform you of this decision. Otherwise the Officer will contact the employer to take action to further investigate and resolve the matter.

In most cases this will involve ensuring the employer has a harassment policy in place that can and will be used to resolve the complaint. However, if there is an impediment to the employer dealing with the matter in accordance with its policy, or if a worker believes either that the employer's investigation was incorrect, or that the employer has failed to take appropriate action to protect the worker from harassment, then an Occupational Health Officer can investigate the matter. This investigation will involve interviewing persons who can provide information pertaining to the complaint, including witnesses, the employer and the alleged harasser.

While the Officer will strive to keep the matter confidential, disclosure of some personal information may be necessary to conduct the investigation.