HOW GOOD IS YOUR
POLICY?
Is your policy reflective of current law
and practise?
If your company is registered in Ontario,
is your current policy consistent with the Ontario Human Rights Commission
Guidelines for Internal Human Rights Complaint Resolution Procedures? If
your company operates elsewhere, does its policy conform to local, provincial
(or state) requirements?
Remember that in most
Canadian jurisdications, a sexual harassment policy is inadequate. You must establish a comprehensive human rights
policy that address the breadth of issues covered in your provincial human
rights code.
Does your policy really protect your
employees from being harassed and discriminated against? Does it provide
protection for your managers from being named in human rights complaints.
If you operate under a collective agreement, is the union supportive of the
policy?
Do all employees know about the policy?
Does your policy establish a problem solving
approach to human rights?
Rather than direct employees involved
in a human rights dispute into a complaint mode, emphasize problem solving
as the best, most efficient and effective way to resolve these types of
conflicts. Empower employees to take direct action by approaching the person
causing the problem and "working it out." If that is viable, then invite
staff to go to either a manager or the policy coordinator to get advice and
assistance. Only if the wide range of informal problem solving approaches
fail, should a formal complaint be submitted.
When was the last time that training about
harassment and the policy take place?
Are managers familiar with their responsibilities
under the policy? When did senior management receive a report on the operation
of the policy?
When was
the policy last reviewed?
The liability of individual managers
as well as the corporation increases when a policy is in place but inadequately
implemented. Human Rights Commission staff are much more critical in their
analysis if on one hand they find that a policy is in place, but, on the
other, they find that it operates with serious deficiencies.
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