Workplace violence and harassment are blanket terms that are used widely, but when it comes to Canadian law, clarity matters. Whether you’re an employer building a prevention program or an HR professional responding to an incident, understanding what workplace violence and harassment means, both legally and functionally, is foundational.
Defining Workplace Violence and Harassment
The workplace violence definition under Canadian legislation is broader than most people expect. Under the Canada Labour Code workplace violence means any action, conduct, threat, or gesture that causes or could reasonably be expected to cause physical or psychological injury or illness to an employee. It can often include incidents involving clients, customers, and members of the public, not just coworkers or supervisors.
Workplace harassment is a related concept and includes any single or repeated incident of objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment, bullying, or action by a person who knows, or ought reasonably to know, that it can cause offence, humiliation, or adverse effects on health and safety.
Violence and harassment often overlap, and both tend to escalate long before anything physical occurs. In practice, warning signs have usually been present for a while and an employer’s obligation to act begins well before an incident occurs.
Types of Workplace Violence
Understanding the different types of workplace violence and harassment helps employers identify risks they might otherwise overlook. Recognizing the full range of behaviours is paramount in making early intervention possible.
Physical Violence
Physical violence includes physical attacks and threatening behaviour with a physical element such as hitting, pushing, kicking, grabbing, throwing objects, property destruction, or physically immobilizing someone. It is the most visible form of violence.
Verbal Violence
Verbal violence includes threatening behaviour communicated through written or spoken words. It includes abusive statements, direct and indirect threats, intimidation, insults, and derogatory comments. It also covers racist, sexist, ageist, or religious oppression. The threats can be delivered in person, by email, or through social media. Left unaddressed, verbal violence tends to escalate.
Psychological Violence
Psychological violence is often the hardest to identify. It includes coercion, intimidation through electronic sources, and conduct designed to make a person afraid or to pressure them into actions they would not normally engage in. Examples could be going against company policy, doing something illegal or immoral, or behaving inappropriately. It doesn’t need to be explicitly stated or physically expressed to qualify.
Lateral or Horizontal Violence
Lateral or horizontal violence refers to harmful behaviour between peers or colleagues at the same organizational level. It can take any of the forms mentioned before such as threats, abusive statements, coercion, or exclusion. It is particularly well-documented in high-stress sectors like healthcare and social services. Because it doesn’t involve a subordinate relationship, it can be harder to identify and address, but employers are no less obligated to respond.
What Canadian Law Requires of Employers
Federal
For federally regulated employers such as banks or telecommunications companies, Bill C-65 under the Canada Labour Code, which came into force in 2021, requires them to:
- Develop and implement a workplace violence and harassment prevention policy
- Conduct a workplace assessment toidentifyrisk factors for violence and harassment
- Implement preventive measures based on that assessment
- Establisha clear process for responding to notices of occurrence
- Provide training to all employees and supervisors
- Review and update the policy and assessment regularly
Provincial
Every province and territory in Canada has occupational health and safety legislation that addresses workplace violence and harassment, though the specific requirements do vary by jurisdiction. Most provincial frameworks require employers to:
- Develop a written workplace violence and harassment prevention policy
- Assess the risk of violence and harassment in the workplace
- Implement controls to eliminate or minimize identified risks
- Establishprocedures for reporting and investigating incidents related to violence and harassment
- Provide violence and harassment training to all employees
The General Duty of Employers
Even where specific violence and harassment prevention regulations don’t apply, the general duty clause in occupational health and safety legislation across Canada requires employers to take every reasonable step to protect the health and safety of all employees. Courts and tribunals have consistently applied this duty to incidents of workplace violence and harassment. This means there is no jurisdiction in Canada where an employer can credibly claim that no obligation exists.
Why This Matters
These are legal requirements, not guidelines. Federally regulated employers who fail to comply face orders from the Labour Program and monetary penalties under the Canada Labour Code. Provincially regulated employers face equivalent consequences under their respective OHS legislation, including compliance orders, stop-work orders, and fines.
But the case for workplace violence and harassment prevention goes way beyond regulatory consequences. Violence and harassment are among the most significant drivers of psychological injury, disability claims, and turnover. They damage organizational culture, reduce productivity, and expose employers to human rights complaints, civil liability, and serious reputational risk.
Perhaps the most important consideration is that they are largely preventable. Risk assessments, clear policies, accessible reporting mechanisms, and training for every level of an organization are proven controls. As the good old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
How SafetyVantage Can Help
The best policies and plans only work if employees know about them. SafetyVantage offers online workplace violence and harassment training built specifically for Canadian employers, covering recognition, reporting, rights and responsibilities, de-escalation, and emergency response. Role-specific content for supervisors and managers is included, so everyone in your organization understands their obligations. Visit the SafetyVantage course catalog and browse our Workplace Wellness Series for more related courses.
This post is part of our series on psychological health and safety in Canadian workplaces. See also: the National Standard and CSA Z1003, the 13 psychosocial factors, and psychological health and safety in the workplace
