Rising number of complaints of workplace violence, harassment in House of Commons

The number of allegations of workplace violence and harassment in the House of Commons has soared since a new policy took effect, according to a report.

In 2022-23, there were 13 such complaints from employees at the workplace, nearly double the eight complaints recorded in 2021-2022, CBC reported. And in 2020-21, there were only two complaints.

In January 2021, the House of Commons implemented a new workplace harassment and violence prevention policy that strengthened reporting requirements. It also mandated members of parliament and staff take part in training sessions on workplace conduct.

“The increase in the number of cases in the most recent year reflects a ‘heightened awareness’ of the responsibilities people working on Parliament Hill have to report incidents that have developed since the implementation of the new policy,” CBC reported, citing the parliamentary report.

Just 7% of employees report sexual harassment to HR, according to a previous report.

Breakdown of complaints

Of the 13 complaints made in the House of Commons, eight were made against someone who does not work for the House of Commons, such as an outside consultant, according to CBC.

Of the remaining five, four were made against an employee or colleague of an MP and one was made against an MP.

Meanwhile, of the eight complaints in 2021-22, five were against MPs, two were against staff and one was against a person whose workplace was not identified. The new policy was only in place for part of this time.

Preventing workplace harassment

The most important component of any prevention program against workplace violence and harassment is management commitment, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS).

“Management commitment is best communicated in a written policy,” it said, and that policy should “encourage reporting of all incidents, including reports from witnesses”.

The policy should also:

• Be developed by management and employee representatives, including the health and safety committee or representative, and union, if present.
• Apply to management, employee's, clients, independent contractors and anyone who has a relationship with your company.
• Define what you mean by workplace violence, harassment and bullying in precise, concrete language.
• Provide clear examples of unacceptable behaviour and working conditions.
• State in clear terms your organization's view toward workplace violence and harassment, and its commitment to prevention.
• Precisely state the consequences of making threats or committing violent acts.
• Outline the process by which preventive measures will be developed.

Recently, a home construction company in Alberta took steps to address an issue surrounding one of its officials.