Workplace violence and harassment policies – to integrate or not?
Ontario’s upcoming occupational health and safety violence and harassment rules require that employers implement violence and harassment prevention policies. Manitoba and Saskatchewan also require OHS policies for both workplace hazards. When drafting or updating your violence/harassment policies to meet legal OHS requirements (e.g., Ontario’s Bill 168), are you creating individual policies or integrating your policies? That was the question asked in the most recent HRinfodesk poll. According to the results of the poll, out of 155 responses, 84 (~54%) respondents intend to comply to the letter of the law, while 71 (~46%) respondents have taken another approach by integrating both policies into one.
Ted Kenney
1 minutes read
April 1, 2010
Employees with disabilities – accommodation strategies (Part I)
Accommodating employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship under human rights legislation can be a complicated task. It’s important to make sure the accommodation process goes smoothly and the employee can focus on working as efficiently as possible, but employers may not be sure about what kinds of questions to ask disabled employees in order to meet their needs.
Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, PhD
Sleeping on the Job? What do you have to do to get fired in Canada, anyway?
Employees can be dismissed for cause, and therefore without notice or severance, when their misconduct or performance is so egregious that the employment relationship has been irreparably harmed. In assessing this issue, employers must adopt a contextual approach, which considers not only the misconduct in question, but the entirety of the employment relationship.
Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation
Disclosing persons with a history of violence
The Ontario Occupational Health and safety Act violence and harassment prevention provisions (Bill 168) require employers to provide information, including personal information, about a person with a history of violent behaviour if:
Ted Kenney
Addressing domestic violence in the workplace – some insights
The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act violence and harassment prevention provisions (Bill 168) require an employer to take all reasonable precautions in the circumstances for the protection of all employees if a domestic violence situation is likely to expose a worker to physical injury in the workplace and the employer becomes aware or ought reasonably to be aware of the situation.
But what does that imply? The law states the requirement but provides little guidance on what employers need to do to prevent domestic violence from spilling into the workplace. In addition, many employers are not comfortable addressing a situation of such a personal nature. It is not an easy task to complete and might never be.
Ted Kenney
Providing reference letters: should you or shouldn’t you – or does it make a difference? Part II
In the vast majority of cases, there is absolutely no reason for an employer not to provide a positive letter of reference for a dismissed employee. As discussed below, this conclusion is based upon two general points:
1) There is little or no risk in providing an honest, good faith reference;
2) Organizations can benefit financially if a dismissed employee finds new employment quickly.
Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation
Providing reference letters: should you or shouldn’t you – or does it make a difference? Part I
In the vast majority of cases, there is absolutely no reason for an employer not to provide a positive letter of reference for a dismissed employee. As discussed below, this conclusion is based upon two general points:
1) There is little or no risk in providing an honest, good faith reference;
2) Organizations can benefit financially if a dismissed employee finds new employment quickly.
Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation
