All employees of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador are entitled to pursue their duties in a respectful workplace. It is crucial that everyone, regardless of role or position in the organization conduct themselves in a respectful manner in the workplace.

The Employer will strive to create and maintain a work environment free from harassment and discrimination by the Employer, an agent of the employer, or by other employees. No form of harassment will be tolerated by the Employer. Where harassment has been determined to have occurred, disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal will be taken.

This policy applies to all employees. Bargaining unit employees should also consult their respective collective agreements.

Department

It is the responsibility of individual departments to:

• create and maintain a respectful workplace that is free of harassment and discrimination;
• take a proactive role to stop inappropriate behaviour/objectionable conduct;
• provide appropriate personal intervention to complainants, such as support, direction and/or advice;
• monitor situations where complaints have been made until corrective measures have been taken;
• provide training to all employees to ensure that they understand the policy and the implications of inappropriate behaviour/ objectionable conduct in the workplace;
• oversee adherence to this policy;
• select an appropriate senior official(s) to accept complaints of inappropriate behaviour/objectionable conduct and assist in resolving the conflict through whatever means is appropriate

Employee

It is the responsibility of employees to:

• respect the diversity brought to the workplace by other employees;
• create a respectful workplace through fostering respectful behaviour toward others;
• challenge inappropriate behaviour/objectionable conduct when it happens and refuse to participate in that behaviour; and
• report inappropriate behaviour/objectionable conduct to someone in authority.

As a complainant employees have the right to:

have their complaint treated seriously and have it thoroughly investigated; and

• have their complaint held in confidence in so far as is necessary for the purposes of investigating the complaint or taking disciplinary action in relation to the complaint (this means your complaint will be shared with the person against whom the complaint was made); and
• be accompanied by another person, including a union representative, for support during all interviews related to the employee; and
• receive fair treatment; and
• have the Employer take all reasonable steps to ensure that they are protected from any repercussions resulting from the filing of a complaint

As a complainant employees have the responsibility to:

• make their disapproval or unease known to the other person within a reasonable time, unless it is impractical to do so; or
• make a complaint to or seek assistance from a supervisor, senior staff member or union representative within a reasonable period of time; and
• cooperate with those responsible for reviewing the complaint; and
• keep their involvement and complaint confidential (failure to do so may result in disciplinary action); and
• express the complaint honestly and accurately (where it is determined that malicious, false or willfully damaging accusations have been made against an individual, disciplinary action (up to and including dismissal) will be taken against the complainant and any other employee making such statements)

Employees against whom a complaint has been made have the right to:

• be informed that a complaint has been filed; and
• be accompanied by another person for support during all interviews related to the employee, including a union representative; and
• be fully informed of all the allegations; and
• respond to those allegations; or
• decline to respond to the complaint or allegations (however the investigation will be continued even where the respondent declines to participate); and
• receive fair treatment

Employees against whom a complaint has been made have the following responsibilities:

• although employees have the right to decline to participate in any investigation, they may not impede the efforts of the person or persons conducting the review of the complaint;
• seek assistance from a supervisor or union representative to obtain advice and direction on what may be the appropriate course of action; and
• keep their involvement and complaint confidential (failure to do so may result in disciplinary action).

The following options are all available to employees who believe they are being harassed or discriminated against. These courses of action do not have be taken in the order listed, nor are they mutually exclusive.

Employees may opt, as a first response to inappropriate behaviour or objectionable conduct to advise the other person either by speaking to them or writing them a letter, that their behaviour is offensive and request that the behaviour cease. It may be the case that the person may not be aware that their behaviour is offensive or discriminatory and this may prevent recurrence.

Where employees are not comfortable with approaching the subject of the inappropriate behaviour or objectionable conduct with the other person, or where circumstances do not permit this course of action, they may opt to have a supervisor or other trusted individual talk to the employee about the behaviour in question.

Employees may opt to meet with an advisor from the Respectful Workplace Program, Public Service Commission. This program allows employees control over the resolution process, including whether or not to proceed with mediation or simply seek confidential advisory services. An advisor from the Respectful Workplace Program can be contacted at either 709-729-5891 or toll-free at 1-877-729-5891

Employees may opt to file an official complaint against the person whose behaviour or conduct they find inappropriate or objectionable. Employees may do this through the senior official designated by the department to investigate this type of behaviour. This senior official will conduct an investigation in to allegation and, where the allegation shows that the respondents behaviour was inappropriate or objectionable, recommend disciplinary action to the Deputy Minister.

Employees who are covered by a collective agreement may opt to file a grievance under the relevant clause of that agreement.

Employees may opt to file an official complaint with the Human Rights Commission. The process and guidelines for doing this can be found on the Human Rights Commission home page.

Employees may file a police report and have the police conduct an official investigation.

Employees may file an official complaint of harassment or discrimination through the senior official designated by the department to investigate complaints. In order for the investigator to understand the complaint and develop an appropriate approach to the investigative procedure, complaints should be as specific and detailed as possible.

An official complaint harassment should include the following details:

• specific information on the behaviours of concern (exactly what behaviours are occurring);
• where possible, times and dates of alleged incidents of harassment or discrimination;
• where possible, witnesses to the alleged incidents of harassment; and
• expectations of the complainant (what outcome the complainant would like to see).