Employers play a big role in preventing discrimination in the workplace. No employee should ever have to experience discrimination from their co-workers, employers, or clients/customers.
Unfortunately, discrimination is a reality in life. Because of that, employers must be familiar with the most effective ways to prevent such discrimination in the workplaces. Therefore, when discrimination does occur in the workplace, the employer can take appropriate steps to address it, as they could be held personally liable if they fail to do so.
In this blog, we will discuss some effective methods and strategies employers can use to prevent discrimination in their workplace.
Familiarize Yourself with the Law
To ensure you are adequately preventing workplace discrimination, you must become familiar with the anti-discrimination laws in place.
Every Canadian is entitled to fair treatment in the workplace. However, the protected grounds of discrimination differ depending if the employer is governed provincially or federally.
Provincially regulated employers are bound by Ontario’s Human Rights Code (OHRC). It prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, record of offences, marital status, family status or disability.
Federally regulated employers are bound by the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA). It prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, family status, genetic characteristics, disability, or a conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered.
Establish and Implement Anti-Discrimination Policies
Employers are also legally bound to make policies that prevent discrimination in the workplace. Provincially regulated employers need to create a workplace violence and harassment prevention policy. This is a requirement under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). Such policies provide wider protections than just for discriminatory acts, but should cover most forms of discrimination.
Federally regulated employers need to also create a workplace violence and harassment prevention policy. This is a requirement under the Canada Labour Code (CLC) after the amendments made by Bill C-65. A policy made in compliance with the legislation would prohibit all forms of workplace harassment and violence, including discriminatory ones.
The anti-discrimination policies that your workplace enforces must prohibit discriminatory behaviour of all kinds and ensure that every employee understands the gravity of the situation and what it means. Such a policy should also give clear direction for what an employee should do if they are facing or witness discrimination in the workplace.
Understanding Discrimination
Discrimination can be direct and indirect. Both forms should not occur in the workplace.
Direct discrimination involves treating someone worse than others because of who they are.
Indirect discrimination in the workplace applies to policies, rules, events, etc., that affect everyone in the workplace but negatively affect certain people due to the aspects of their identity or personal characteristics. For example, a policy that prohibits headwear indoors would indirectly discriminate against certain religions that wear headwear like turbans and hijabs.
Anti-Discrimination Training
If you’ve noticed that your workplace has some discriminatory practices, or you simply want to make your workplace a more attractive place for all to work, engaging in an anti-discrimination program is the right thing to do. In the case of federally regulated employers, it is mandatory. Per Bill C-65 all employees, including management, need to be trained on how to address discriminatory harassment and violence in the workplace.
Throughout an anti-discrimination program, the attendees will learn to understand the basic rights of people in the workplace and how they should be treated. They will learn effective ways to demonstrate and practice tolerance for all people. Training will teach everyone to locate the potential discriminatory factors in the workplace and locate potentially discriminatory behaviours in themselves. One of the primary aims of an anti-discrimination training course is to teach people how to become aware of the outward perceptions of others that they have and try to get them to be more inclusive. At Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation, we offer the mandatory Bill C-65 training both online and in-person.
Ensuring Equitable Behaviour Through Workplace Monitoring
An employer should take extra steps to ensure no discrimination is happening at the workplace. Discrimination is an issue that can have a huge impact on people’s well-being. So, it should not be taken lightly. An employer must monitor their workplace to ensure that discriminatory behaviour is not bubbling up at any level of the operation.
This means ensuring that hiring processes are inclusive, promotions consider everyone eligible, and compensation for work across the board is fair and equitable. It also means talking to every level of your organization to ensure that discrimination is not occurring. If you notice a high level of turnaround in a specific part of your organization or among a protected ground, it is a good idea to investigate, as discrimination may be happening but is just going unreported.
Encourage Inclusive Culture in the Workplace
Anti-discrimination in the workplace is an active push for positive change in the workplace. Making everyone feel more comfortable daily is a change that should be embraced.
Employers can ensure that they are fostering a positive and inclusive work environment by celebrating diversity, valuing culture, and ensuring everyone is on board with those values. The aim of a non-discriminatory workplace is to create a healthy and supportive work environment for everyone involved.
Respond to Complaints Thoroughly
When a discrimination complaint comes across your desk as an employer, it must be taken seriously and pursued to the fullest degree. Failure to properly address a claim of discrimination could make you personally liable. An employer permitting discrimination is seen legally as them engaging in the discrimination.
There should be a step-by-step process that deals with discrimination in your workplace. This process should ensure that an investigation into the claim will be conducted and encourages appropriate disciplinary action against the offending party. This could include discipline or even the termination of their employment contract if the claim is serious enough. However, before terminating an employee due to their discrimination, you should speak to an employment lawyer.
Work with an Experienced Employment Lawyer
If you are unsure how to move forward, the best thing to do is come to speak with one of our employment lawyers.
Workplaces with many people working in them are very complex environments. If you want to ensure your workplace is discrimination free, you must take active steps to prevent discrimination. You must try every day to ensure nothing discriminatory is occurring in your workplace.
Experienced employment lawyers, like Suzanne Desrosiers Professional Corporation, can provide advice and training programs that make the process of maintaining a non-discriminatory workplace a breeze.
Employers should work with one of our experienced employment lawyer to ensure that your policies and practices comply with applicable Canadian employment laws and regulations. If this is done correctly, it can help prevent discrimination in your place of business and minimize the risk of legal action taken against you as the employer.
In Conclusion:
There are many tools available to address discrimination. Education is a powerful tool against discrimination in the workplace. If you educate yourself and your employees, you will eliminate the risks of being known as a workplace that tolerates discrimination which can lead to a significant and severe downturn in your ability to continue as a business.
Now, more than ever, embracing anti-discrimination policies in your workplace is important.
Gone are the days when people tolerated discrimination. People nowadays speak up when they are treated unfairly, as they should. That said, employers must educate themselves on how to prevent people from being discriminated against and embrace the changes that come with running a workplace that does not tolerate discrimination.
If you want to speak to an employment lawyer on any discrimination issues that you might be facing, feel free to call us at (705) 268-6492 or emailing us at info@sdlawtimmins.com.