Canadian Employment Law Today

form that employees can use to submit com- plaints." She adds, " en at least the you can get everything down on paper and you have it all documented. Just from a legal perspec- tive, I think it's really important." Some action required Even without a complaint, a manager needs to act if they witness or hear about an incident of sexual harassment. "Man- agement gets hung up on this point and tends to think, well, nobody complained so I'm not obliged to do anything," says MacKenzie. However, Canadian law says employers have a responsibility for ensuring that their workplace is free from discrimination and harassment. "A leader doesn't have the lux- ury of turning a blind eye on this, but they also don't have to come down on the subject in a heavy-handed manner." MacKenzie says managers should have a conversation with the person engaging in the harassing behav- iour and let them know that what they're doing is not okay in the workplace. "Check in with the person on the receiving end, as well," she adds. Swift consequences Any policy should outline exactly how an organization will respond to sexual ha- rassment, and then those steps need to be followed to the letter, says Wekelo. "Or- ganizations should take a zero tolerance stance and just make sure every single complaint is handled immediately." She adds, "If people know the behaviour isn't tolerated, then it's not going to happen as much and people will step forward more, too." Bowes recommends suspending the per- petrator with pay until an investigation is complete. "An organization should then pro- vide private counselling for the complainant, determine if the complainant needs time off work, and make arrangements for their sup- port," says Bowes. Starts at the top Pau points out that, as with most issues involving organizational culture, lead- ership sets the tone. "What's missing in some organizations where sexual harass- ment is a problem is that there's not an honest, genuine belief that employees are and should be respected at all levels," says Pau. "Sometimes an organization can say it but not mean it, and employees can see if you walk the talk." High profi le cases of sexual harassment might just be moving the needle on that, however. "We did a session recently and people were really opening up and emotion- al about the topic," says Pau. "It's started a conversation in a lot of workplaces and peo- ple are feeling more safe about having those conversations." She adds, "It's pretty incred- ible how many people are coming forward with stories and I think it's just the tip of the iceberg." Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2018 January 17, 2018 | Canadian Employment Law Today CREDIT: MIHAI SURDU/SHUTTERSTOCK When the conversation re-ignites trauma A 2014 study by University of Mary Washington researchers found women who experienced frequent sexual harassment displayed signs of trauma associated with PTSD, including re-experiencing the trauma and avoiding people or things that may remind the victim of the harassment. "For people who've experienced sexual harassment in the past, all the headlines and conversations on the subject may be bringing up issues and concerns they don't want to face head on, right now," says Pau. "That's certainly affecting health and safety in the workplace, as well." To help with this, Pau recommends organizations offer employee assistance programs for anyone who might need a hand dealing with re-experiencing trauma. "We've seen some of our clients have employees who are really upset at work, and it turns out there's no specific problem with work, but just these emotions coming to a head," says Pau.

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