How Human Rights Sensitivity Training Can Benefit Your Business

Discrimination and human rights violations can be present in every workplace. To continue to work with these violations unaddressed isn’t only unacceptable—it’s illegal.

Every Canadian has the right to fair treatment in the workplace and the right to be free from discrimination or bias on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, age, and other identifiers. Under the Canadian Human Rights Act, every person is entitled to a fair workplace, and under Canada’s Employment Equity Act, employers are required to improve employment opportunities for specific groups of people.

If you don’t have legal training, it can be hard to learn the ins and outs of employmentlaw on your own. Luckily, you don’t have to.

With Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation, you can get human rights sensitivity training to stay up to date on the laws around fair work and the ways you can promote inclusivity and justice in your workplace.

Keep reading to learn more about our training module and how it will help you manage an effective workplace.

What Is Human Rights Sensitivity Training?

Our human rights sensitivity training is a webinar program designed by employment lawyers to help employers build a better workplace for everyone. We’ve developed training modules targeted at employees of all levels—including management, executives, and other employers—who want to create a better work environment and protect themselves from the legal consequences of human rights violations.

Through our self-paced online training course, you can learn about discrimination, the laws associated with a discriminatory workplace, the consequences of breaking these laws, and how to prevent such discrimination from occurring. This training provides practical, applicable lessons that can result in tangible changes in your workplace.

We’ve designed this training program for all types of learners and all types of employees so that you’re able to learn at your own pace and access the course materials at any time. Using the web resources and technology at our disposal, we’ve made this training as inclusive and accessible as possible to ensure we reach as many employers as we can.

How Does Human Rights Sensitivity Training Help?

This training program has many helpful elements for employers of all types and institutions of all sizes. Any workplace in Canada and Ontario is governed by certain human rights laws and must operate in accordance with them.

Despite their desire to comply fully with these laws, many employers are unaware of the ways discrimination can manifest itself in the workplace. No employer wakes up in the morning thinking they will discriminate against one employee in particular. It is the actions of the employer that matter and for the most part it’s for they believe the best interest of the organization and by doing so they discriminate against one or more of their employees. Example: A employee has gone on an extended sick leave and while they are gone you hired a replacement employee that is a real cracker jack and is a lot more efficient than the employee that has gone on the extended sick leave. When the employee that was on the sick leave is ready to return to work, you terminate them because you prefer the replacement employee that does double the work that the employee on sick leave ever did. By terminating the sick employee you may not be intending to discriminate but by your action you have discriminated against an employee that has a disability. Remember intention is NOT a defence to a Human Rights complaint. Consequently, by acting in such a fashion you would be operating in an unjust way, creating an unsafe work environment and opening yourself up to potential legal complaints brought against the employer.

We believe that the majority of discrimination cases occur due to a lack of knowledge and awareness on the part of the employer or management. However, when it comes to the law, intent may be irrelevant. If it’s your duty to know, you can still face legal consequences. That’s why you need to ensure you and your team are all on board with the laws that affect human rights in the workplace.

With our training program, you can learn about the following factors:

• What constitutes a “protected employee” in your workplace. You’ll learn about your employees’ rights and whether an employee fits specific definitions under applicable human rights laws be it federal or provincial. Since the laws have a broad definition of “employee”, almost all your workers will fall under this umbrella term, but we’re careful to go over the specific definitions.
• What discrimination means within the workplace. While many employers think discrimination must be blatant, in truth, discrimination can take many forms. Many of these forms might be difficult to see and name as discrimination. Issues such as harassment, unfair discipline, and unequal pay are common examples of workplace discrimination that might fly under the radar.
• What types of conduct should be eliminated from the workplace? Some specific types of conduct are prohibited by the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code and should not be present within your workplace.
• What your responsibility is in terms of human rights laws. The employer’s responsibility to accommodate is an obligation that may be more far-more reaching than you realize. You may have a responsibility not only to ensure you aren’t breaching these the human rights laws but also actively work to improve inclusivity.
• What “undue hardship” means for the workplace. We’ll cover your requirement to accommodate undue hardship and how your organization is affected.
• What steps can be taken next. We’ll offer some insights into the measures your organization can take to eliminate discrimination and unfair treatment in the workplace.
• What the costs are of violating human rights codes. This training will ensure that you’re fully aware of the consequences of human rights violations for employers through the study of case examples and precedents.

Human rights sensitivity training is the most important tool at your disposal to ensure complete education in and prevention of human rights violations at work. Join us in a journey towards a healthier work environment for all employees, where every person gets a fair opportunity to grow and develop.

Who Can Benefit in Your Workplace?

As part of our mission to help as many workplaces as possible adopt more inclusive and fair measures across the board, we’ve designed our training program for employees of all levels in your organization. Upholding human rights laws needs to become a part of your company's culture. For it to have the maximum effect, this training should be completed by as many people in your organization as possible.

Through our online training, we can offer comprehensive human rights education throughout your organization. Human rights sensitivity training is vitally important for executives, managers, HR personnel, board members, and business leaders. Still, it can also be valuable for other employees to have the tools to identify cases of discrimination as they go about their work.

Although the training is performed through an online self-pace modules, you can always reach out to our legal team to answer any questions and concerns regarding the course material. At the end of every successfully completed educational program, we give graduates a certificate of achievement to prove their training in identifying and preventing discrimination in the workplace.

Our training will help build healthier relationships among your employees across your organization and encourage fair and productive policies toward everyone. You won’t just avoid potential legal consequences for unjust actions but you will also foster a more productive and welcoming space for your team.

Conclusion

Every employee has the right to fair treatment in the workplace. You can ensure you’re upholding human rights codes and cultivating a more inclusive and just workplace when you sign up for human rights sensitivity training with Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation.

Our company has worked with institutions of all types and sizes to ensure they have the proper tools to run a fair business for every worker. We want to partner with you as well.

Through the education and certification of your team, you can improve the treatment of your employees and unlock new potential. Reach out to us today to sign up for our versatile human rights sensitivity training program!