Canadian HR Reporter Weekly

November 14, 2018

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2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 CANADIAN HR REPORTER WEEKLY When it comes to the potential for employee claims for chronic mental stress, there are a few important steps em- ployers should be taking, according to Asha Rampersad, a lawyer at Bernardi Human Resource Law in Toronto. e new Chronic Mental Stress Policy from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) opens the door for claims related to bullying and harassment, humiliating events, abusive or threatening interpersonal conflict, a lack of managerial support or workload issues, said Rampersad, speaking at a conference on mental stress claims in Mississauga, Ont., on Nov. 6. Employers should be documenting everything they're doing to support employees, making sure the different stakeholders are talking to each other, and focusing on performance management, she said. "e impact on your organization will likely be you can expect an increase in your premiums, and it'll be increasingly important to take a proactive approach to how you're dealing with this." Document everything One of the first challenges for employers is deciding when they have a duty to report, said Rampersad. It may be the employee who fills out a form or it may be the employer, having noticed issues around an employee's behaviour, such as lost time. But there's no entitlement to compensation if the stress is related to management actions such as discipline, demotions, terminations or transfers, or changes in work hours or productivity expectations. "If you know right off the bat this is a performance issue, this is not harassment — because this is happening a lot, too — and you want to make those submissions, it's very, very important that sometimes you take the initiative and the employer make its submission in support of their claim," she said. e case manager will want thorough documentation such as copies of notes, investigation reports and executive summaries, said Rampersad. "It's becoming increasingly more important to document what you're doing because whether you're going into a grievance arbitration or you're going to a human rights litigation proceeding or court action, the first thing they're going to ask you for is what you can prove, what is documented, what has been done." e more information an employer can provide, the better, said Sal Cavaricci, director of the mental stress injuries program at the WSIB. "e documentary evidence is the most critical so if the employer has already conducted an harassment investigation or workplace investigation, we will request that. If it's ongoing, we may wait," he said, or WSIB may do its own investigation. "A lot of employers and worker groups may feel we're taking our time, maybe longer than we'd like, but we feel it's important to collect the right amount of information to make an informed decision," said Cavaricci, speaking at the conference hosted by AGS Rehab Solutions and Hale Health and Safety Solutions. Another area employers should focus on is performance management, said Rampersad. For example, an employee is not being harassed just because he doesn't like his performance review. "ere's no entitlement to chronic mental stress if the employer can show they engaged in reasonable action, it was related to normal employment decisions," she said. "e spotlight is not just on the quality of your workplace investigation, but how are you performance Chronic mental stress claims in spotlight Tips for employers concerned about Ontario's new workers' comp policy BY SARAH DOBSON Sign up for the Canadian HR Newswire today for free and enjoy great content from the publishers of Canadian HR Reporter. HR News at Your Fingertips THE LATEST NEWS THE BEST COMMENTARY DELIVERED WEEKLY FOR READING ON ANY DEVICE Visit www.hrreporter.com/ canadian-hr-newswire

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