|
Worth in the Workplace |
|
Worth Personnel Group |
|
Worth in the Workplace |
|
A GUIDE TO BILL 168 - WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT
On December 15, 2009, Bill 168 received Royal Assent in Ontario, placing new obligations on employers to prevent workplace violence and harassment. Bill 168, the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace) 2009 came into force on June 15, 2010.
For the first time, Ontario has added legal definitions of “workplace violence” and “workplace harassment” to the OHSA. The OHSA will also provide heightened health and safety protections for workers against physical violence, threatening behaviour, verbal or written threats of violence, harassment, and psychological abuse at work.
Bill 168 compliance requires employers to do the following:
· Develop written policies regarding violence and harassment in the workplace, post those policies (in the case of employers with more than five employees) and review them on an annual basis. · Develop a program for the implementation and maintenance of workplace violence and harassment policies. The details of the program must be communicated to workers. · Conduct a risk assessment of workplace violence and communicate the results of that assessment to a joint health and safety committee, a health and safety representative or to the workers where no committee or representative exists. · Provide information to workers about an individual with a history of violence where workers are likely to encounter that person in the course of their work and where there is risk of physical injury. · Allow workers to refuse unsafe work where workplace violence is likely to endanger their safety. · Take reasonable precautions where the employer is aware (or ought to be aware) that domestic violence is likely to expose worker(s) to the risk of physical injury in the workplace.
ACTION PLAN
· Review existing policies. · Review your existing workplace policies and amend or replace them to address workplace violence and workplace harassment as occupational health and safety issues. It may be necessary to create one policy addressing violence and another addressing harassment. You should then post the new policies and review them on an annual basis at the very least. · Develop programs. You should develop, maintain and implement workplace violence and harassment programs, consistent with your posted policies. · Assess risks. Perform risk assessments for workplace violence on a regular basis and provide written copies of such assessments, together with the results, to a joint health and safety committee or a health and safety representative. Provide training and information. You should provide training and information to workers on the prevention of workplace violence and harassment. |
|
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE OR BULLYING?
Psychological violence, including bullying, has a negative impact on workers' mental, physical, emotional and social health. Studies show the co-relation between bullied workers and lost time at work. Bullying is the use of position, stature or controlling behaviour to threaten physical well-being or loss of employment.
· Examples of psychological violence/bullying at work include: · rumour spreading · mobbing · excluding individuals from work related activities · reviewing work unfairly or trivial fault finding · belittling behavior or comments · removing freedoms while adding responsibilities · dividing tasks unfairly, hindering work, expecting disproportionate results, or playing favourites · setting unreasonable job requirements or duties · unreasonably blocking applications for training, promotion or leave |
|
DEFINITION OF A WORKPLACE
Workplaces are defined under the Occupational Health and Safety Act as any land, premises, location or thing, at, upon, in, or near which a worker works. Therefore, workplaces are more than just offices, construction sites, stores, and factories.
For example, when workers use vehicles and public transportation systems during work hours to reach work assignments, the vehicle or transportation system they use is a workplace. When a worker is providing a service at a client's home (for example, appliance repair or nursing), the client's home is a workplace while the worker is present to do the work. When a worker is at an off-site meeting, the meeting place is a workplace. In addition, the workplace parking lot used by workers may be a workplace under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, depending on the lot’s location and other factors.
BEYOND THE “TRADITIONAL WORKPLACE”
Work-related violence is not restricted to the traditional workplace. Violence can occur at business-related functions or social events, and can even follow workers home. The electronic age brings with it greater opportunity for intrusion telephones, faxes, and emails can all be used as weapons to harass or threaten. |
|
FOUR CLASSIFICATIONS OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Assessing the risk for workplace violence is important so that the implementation of the appropriate prevention controls may be undertaken. Basically, there are four classifications of workplace violence:
TYPE 1 External (no relationship to the employer) This is committed by a perpetrator who is a stranger to the workplace TYPE 2 Client or customer. The perpetrator is a customer, client or patient at the workplace TYPE 3 Worker to Worker. The perpetrator is a boss, co-worker or subordinate and may be either a current or past employee TYPE 4 Domestic Violence. The perpetrator is a family member or friend, or former family or friend. The perpetrator usually has a domestic or personal relationship with an employee |
|
Official Government information is available at: http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/sawo/pubs/fs_workplaceviolence.php
FOR MORE INFORMATION |