• Have you received an informal complaint and are unsure what to do?

• Does the complaint seem too trivial to investigate?

• Are you unsure how to conduct valid and thorough workplace investigations?

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An independent and impartial third party workplace investigator has specialized knowledge and training to ensure procedural fairness and the rights of all parties involved. Retaining an external investigator is recommended when there is no sufficiently qualified internal investigator or when neutrality may be a concern. Other considerations are the complexity of the issues and the seriousness of the allegations.

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​Without a formal complaint, organizations may feel they cannot proceed to initiating workplace investigations. However, workplaces have a duty of care to taking all reasonable steps to prevent and stop any workplace behaviors that could lead to physical or psychological injury. If the allegations involve misconduct according to the organization’s policies and/or legislation, employers have an obligation and a responsibility to ensure the matter is appropriately investigated.

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Under Provincial Occupational Health and Safety legislation, all workers are "entitled to employment free from workplace harassment" and employers are required to investigate complaints of workplace harassment. Employers must have a policy which states they are "committed to eliminating, where possible, or otherwise, minimizing the hazard of workplace harassment." 

  

Harassment is "inappropriate vexatious conduct or comment by a person to a worker that the person knew or ought to have known would cause the worker to be humiliated, offended, or intimidated." (NL OHS Act, 2010).

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Bullying is a form of harassment that involves repeated, intentional comments or actions designed to deliberately abuse of humiliate a person, resulting in an intimidating or hostile working environment.

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Discrimination is a form of harassment involving inappropriate comments or conduct towards an individual or group based on one of more prohibited grounds that are protected under Human Rights legislation. 

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The investigation process involves obtaining a written complaint and response and conducting interviews with the complainant, respondent and witnesses. After all interviews are completed and documents are collected, the investigator determines if any event constitutes harassment on the “balance of probabilities”. This standard of proof simply means if it was “more likely than not” that the alleged event(s) happened based on the evidence presented.

 

 

 

Applicable Legislation:

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SNL2010 CHAPTER H-13.1 - HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, 2010 (assembly.nl.ca)

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Harassment & Violence in the Workplace (NL OHS Legislation)

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Requirements for employers to prevent harassment and violence in federally regulated workplaces

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