Workplace Harassment
Zayouna Law Firm advises Ontario employees dealing with harassment at work, and helps them choose the route that can actually deliver a remedy.
Reporting harassment and recovering for it are two different things.
Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act requires every employer to have a written harassment program, to investigate incidents and complaints, and to tell the complainant and the respondent the results in writing. What the Act does not do is award you anything. It is safety legislation, so its enforcement mechanism is compliance, not compensation, and employees who report and then wait are often surprised by that.
Compensation comes from other routes, and which route fits depends on what happened. Harassment connected to a protected ground under the Human Rights Code can go to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario. Conduct that made the job untenable can support a constructive dismissal claim. Work related chronic mental stress can support a WSIB claim.
YOU DESERVE TO BE TREATED FAIRLY
What counts as workplace harassment
The Occupational Health and Safety Act defines workplace harassment as a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known, or ought reasonably to be known, to be unwelcome. That covers repeated belittling, exclusion, threats and intimidation as well as sexual harassment. Reasonable management direction, performance feedback included, is expressly not harassment.
The word course matters. A pattern is the usual case, though a single incident can qualify where it is serious enough, and conduct that occurs off site or online can still be workplace harassment.
WHERE A HARASSMENT COMPLAINT CAN GO
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Reporting harassment to your employer
An internal complaint is usually the first step and it also creates the record everything else is built on. Put it in writing even where the policy allows a verbal report, keep a copy outside the employer’s systems, and note dates rather than impressions. An employer’s failure to investigate properly becomes part of the file.
- A dated log of incidents with what was said, who was present, and the effect on your work
- Emails, messages and shift records that corroborate the timeline
- Your written complaint, the employer’s acknowledgement, and the written results of the investigation
- Medical records if your health suffered
- Any change to your duties, hours or reviews after you complained
When the investigation is inadequate
An investigation has to be appropriate in the circumstances, which means a real look at the allegations by someone without a stake in the outcome. Where an employer investigates itself, ignores witnesses or never provides written results, a Ministry of Labour inspector can order an impartial investigation at the employer’s expense.
Reprisal after you complain
Both the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Human Rights Code prohibit reprisal against a worker for reporting in good faith. Reprisal is rarely announced. It appears as a sudden poor review, a schedule change, removed duties or exclusion from meetings, and the timing relative to the complaint is what makes the pattern visible.
What if it is not discrimination?
Competing pages often pair harassment with the right to refuse unsafe work. Read that carefully, because under the Occupational Health and Safety Act the refusal right attaches to workplace violence, not to harassment on its own. Ontario also has no free-standing right to sue for harassment. Where the conduct is not tied to a protected ground, the practical routes are the employer’s statutory obligations, a constructive dismissal claim if the workplace became intolerable, or a WSIB claim for chronic mental stress. Knowing this early prevents a year spent on the wrong forum.
Our Workplace Harassment Experience
Samiya Ahmad helps employees document harassment, escalate it, and pursue the route that fits. Book a free consultation.
Results
Records win these files and memory alone rarely carries one, so the first advice is almost always about what to write down and where to keep it.
Relationships
Describing harassment to a stranger is difficult enough once. You do it with the lawyer who will handle the file, and the firm works in several languages, with interpreters available.
Recovery
The goal is a workplace you can return to, or a departure on terms that reflect what the conduct cost you. Which of the two is realistic gets discussed at the outset.
Service Areas
Workplace Harassment Etobicoke
Harassment advice for Etobicoke employees, from the firm’s Four Seasons Place office in Etobicoke.
Workplace Harassment Toronto
Harassment and reprisal claims for Toronto employees, including HRTO applications.
Workplace Harassment Burlington
Harassment advice for Burlington and Halton employees, from the Ironstone Drive office.
Workplace Harassment Brampton
Harassment advice for Brampton employees across shift based workplaces.
Workplace Harassment Mississauga
Harassment claims for Mississauga employees, from warehouse floors to head offices.
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Common Questions About Workplace Harassment
What is workplace harassment in Ontario?
The Occupational Health and Safety Act defines it as a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known, or ought reasonably to be known, to be unwelcome. That includes repeated belittling, intimidation, exclusion and sexual harassment. Reasonable management direction, including performance feedback, isn’t harassment.
Can I sue my employer for workplace harassment?
Not for harassment alone. Ontario has no free-standing tort of harassment, so a claim is usually framed as a human rights application, a constructive dismissal, or a WSIB matter.
Is workplace harassment illegal in Ontario?
Employers are legally required to have a harassment program and to investigate complaints. Harassment tied to a protected ground also breaches the Human Rights Code.
Can workplace harassment happen outside the workplace?
Yes. Conduct at a work event, over messaging apps or online can be workplace harassment where it arises from the employment relationship.
What happens after I report harassment at work?
Your employer must investigate and give you and the respondent the results in writing. It doesn’t have to give you a copy of the full report.
Can I be fired for reporting harassment?
Reprisal for a good faith report is prohibited. If a dismissal or demotion follows your complaint, record the dates and get advice quickly.
SPEAK WITH AN EMPLOYMENT LAWYER TODAY
If you are facing wrongful dismissal, workplace harassment, or another employment dispute, our employment lawyers help individuals across Ontario understand their rights and pursue fair outcomes.