Harassment Prevention for Employees (Canada)

Workplace harassment refers to unwelcome behavior directed at an employee because of a protected characteristic, such as race, sex, religion, or age. Harassment becomes unlawful when submitting to or enduring the conduct is made a condition of employment, or when the behavior is so severe or pervasive that it creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. This course introduces employees in Canadian workplaces to the principles of harassment and violence prevention, with emphasis on recognizing, reporting, and responding to inappropriate workplace conduct. This course will review key concepts under Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial frameworks, including harassment, sexual harassment, workplace violence, discrimination, bullying, psychological harassment, microaggressions, and poisoned work environments. Through practical scenarios, you will learn how harmful behaviour may appear in everyday workplace interactions, including in person, online, at job sites, during work-related communications, and in other work-connected settings. The course explains the difference between harassment and reasonable management action, outlines employee responsibilities for respectful conduct, and describes how concerns are reported, documented, investigated, and resolved according to workplace policy and applicable law. It also examines confidentiality expectations, cooperation during investigations, anti-reprisal protections, and the role of respectful communication in maintaining a safe, inclusive, and compliant workplace.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Define workplace harassment, sexual harassment, psychological harassment, workplace violence, discrimination, poisoned work environment, reprisal, and confidentiality in a Canadian workplace context.
• Identify behaviours that may constitute harassment, violence, bullying, discrimination, microaggressions, or retaliation.
• Identify the difference between inappropriate workplace conduct and reasonable management actions carried out respectfully, professionally, and in good faith.
• Recognize how harassment and violence can occur in physical, virtual, job-site, work-from-home, and other work-related settings.
• Explain employee responsibilities for maintaining respectful communication, respecting boundaries, reporting concerns, and cooperating in workplace investigations.
• Describe appropriate reporting steps when experiencing, witnessing, or becoming aware of workplace harassment or violence.
• Describe the importance of documentation, confidentiality, timely reporting, and non-retaliation during the complaint and resolution process.