I got a call the other day from a relieved client. She and her management team have, after months of hard work, put the finishing touches on their new workplace harassment and violence policies in compliance with Ontario’s Bill 168. The new law requires all Ontario employers to have these policies in place on or before June 15.
My client was proud to report she had posted the new policies in prominent places throughout the workplace, and made them available to employees online via the company intranet.
“Whew! We got it all done before the deadline.”
“Great,” I said. “When are you holding the staff training sessions?”
“Staff training? But we had training earlier this year. You conducted it. Remember?”
Of course I remembered.
“That training informed you and your managers what YOU had to do to get ready for Bill 168: the violence risk assessment, reporting procedures, new policies and programs…”
“And we’ve done all that. Now you’re saying we need more training? Staff training?”
“Absolutely,” I explained. “The law is very clear,”
An employer shall provide a worker with information and instruction that is appropriate for the worker on the contents of the policy and program…
Information and instruction—that means training. And different levels of training depending on what is “appropriate” for individual employees or groups of employees.
Have you set aside training times to provide your employees with “information and instruction”?
You now have 16 business days from today to get it done. Get in touch with a training provider ASAP!
You can review the four stages to Bill 168 compliance in my article on HRinfodesk.
Andrew Lawson
Human Rights Advisor, Learn Don’t Litigate
www.learndl.ca
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- Ontario policy on competing human rights - August 8, 2012
- What does the case of Trayvon Martin tell us about racism in Canada? - April 4, 2012
