Ontario’s new workplace harassment laws are coming into force as of September 8, 2016.  Bill 132 amends the Occupational Health and Safety Act to add additional obligations on employers, including a duty to investigate all incidents or complaints of workplace harassment.  

Now more than ever, it is crucial that anyone in a supervisory role knows how to respond to incidents of harassment, including initiating an appropriate investigation.  This course will cover how to identify workplace harassment issues, and how to effectively respond to them through a proper investigation.  Participants will receive training through an education session and interactive mock investigation that will provide them with the confidence and tools necessary to investigate harassment in an effective and thorough manner.  

Course content will include: how to identify workplace harassment, how to conduct effective witness interviews and prepare witness statements; how to gather and assess relevant physical and documentary evidence; and how to prepare a proper investigative report. 

In order to facilitate learning, the course will include mock witness interviews which will be demonstrated by course instructors. Participants will be encouraged to participate in the interviews during the session.  As a follow-up to the session, participants will be invited to prepare an analysis of the evidence as part of a report on their own time which can be compared against the sample investigative report provided by course instructors after the session.  This interactive part of the course will increase understanding and insight into the investigation process, and build effective investigative practices and skills.