PLEA gratefully acknowledges our primary core funder the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan for their continuing and generous support of our organization.
Below are some suggestions about how workers can use their workplace's Harassment Prevention Policy.
This may seem like a small thing but knowing what it says can help you, whether you have been harassed, witnessed someone being harassed, have harassment reported to you or are accused of harassment.
Speaking up when you witness harassment or are harassed can be an effective way to prevent further harassment. When it is safe to tell the person to stop this can be a simple and direct way to deal with an issue, particularly if you have doubts about whether the person knows their conduct is unwelcome. The fact that harassment continued after you asked the person to stop can provide evidence that they knew the behaviour was unwelcome.
If your complaint is not being dealt with as outlined by the Harassment Policy remind people about things like timelines, confidentiality and any other parts of the policy that are not being followed.
In many cases using the reporting procedure in your workplace’s Harassment Policy is a good way to start but remember there may be circumstances where this does not work. For example, if the person you are supposed to report harassment to is involved or has condoned the behaviour you can use a different process for your complaint.
You have additional options to consider, depending on the situation. You may be able to make a complaint to Occupational Health and Safety or to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. Any harassment that is a crime should be reported to the police.
PLEA offers free online training on preventing and addressing workplace harassment.