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Readers if you are hungry please do not get overly excited as I am not referring to the delicious HP sauce that some of you may be familiar with. Hopefully, I haven’t disappointed you and the title has peeked your curiosity to further read this significant reminder targeted at employers.

Many of you may already be aware of the fact that the scope of psychological harassment as defined by the Act Respecting Labour Standards (the “Act”) was expanded as of June 12^th, 2018, to encompass verbal comments, actions or gestures of a sexual nature.

However, as of January 1^st, 2019, section 81.19 of the Act forces employers to adopt and make available to their employees a psychological harassment prevention and complaint processing policy (which I have informally referred to as “HP” to simplify the text and to possibly maintain your excitement) that includes, in particular, a section on behaviour that manifests itself in the form of verbal comments, actions or gestures of a sexual nature.

An employer’s HP should be carefully tailored to ensure not only compliance with the Act, but to sufficiently emphasize the importance of prevention and deterrence of psychological harassment in the workplace.

We are working closely with employers across Canada to satisfy all of their HP needs.

This publication is of a general nature, is as of the date indicated and is not intended to constitute an opinion or legal advice.  The facts and circumstances of your particular situation should be specifically identified and addressed before appropriate legal advice may be given.