Procedure for Reporting Workplace Violence or Harassment
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PROCEDURE
FOR
REPORTING
WORKPLACE
VIOLENCE
AND
HARASSMENT
Procedure Type:
Management
Initially
Approved:
June 11,
2021
Procedure Sponsor:
Vice-President,
Finance and
Administration
Last
Revised:
May 29,
2025
Office of
Administrative
Responsibility:
Human
Resources
Review
Scheduled:
May 20,
2030
Approver:
Executive Leadership Team
A. PROCEDURES
1. INCIDENT RESPONSE ASSISTANCE
1.1 If immediate assistance is required emergency services should be contacted at 911,
followed by a phone call to Security Services at 403-440-5900. Emergency phones are
also located throughout campus and connect directly to Security Services.
2.
CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE MAKING A REPORT
2.1 There may be circumstances where individuals may choose to pursue informal measures
to resolve allegations prior to submitting a Report of Harassment where appropriate. In
such circumstances individuals are strongly encouraged to contact a representative
from Human Resources to discuss appropriate informal measures or other reporting
options and policies that may be applicable.
3.
REPORTING AN INCIDENT
3.1 Any individual may make a Report of Violence or Harassment to Human Resources by
completing the Workplace Violence and Harassment Incident Report Form and must
include the following:
a. detailed information about the incident;
b. the date and location the incident occurred; and
c. the name of the individual or individuals that were part of, or were witness to, the
incident.
3.2
If an individual wishes to make a Report against an Employee in Human Resources,
they may instead make a report, in writing, directly to the Office of General Counsel.
The report must include the same information as required by the Workplace Violence
and Harassment Incident Report Form.
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3.3
If a report is made to the Office of General Counsel, General Counsel will act with
the same authorities prescribed to the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources,
for the purposes of this Policy and procedure.
3.4
Upon receipt of a Report, the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources or
designate, will acknowledge its receipt and that it is being reviewed to the individual
who made the Report within five (5) business days.
3.5
The review may include contacting the individuals referenced in the Report, including
the individual who submitted the Report, to better understand the incident or
circumstance that led to the Report being made.
3.6
Normally, within ten (10) business days of initially receiving a Report, the Associate
Vice-President, Human Resources or designate, will notify the individual who made
the Report of the decision to investigate. If a decision not to investigate is made, a
reason must be given and may include that the allegation:
a. does not meet the definitions of the Policy;
b. was not made in good faith;
c. should be addressed through another policy; or
d. is being addressed through another process.
3.7 An investigation into suspected incident(s) of Violence or Harassment that the
University investigates at its own discretion will be documented in a Report and will
follow the same assessment procedures and timelines outlined in this procedure
and/or Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention Policy.
4.
INVESTIGATION
4.1 If an investigation under this Policy is recommended, the Associate Vice-President,
Human Resources or designate, must
a. advise the individual who the Report was made against, in writing, of the nature
and specifics of the incident, the investigation, and their right to representation
in accordance with the provisions of any applicable collective agreement or terms
and conditions of employment; and,
b. assign the investigation to an investigator.
4.2
The Associate Vice-President, Human Resources or designate, will provide the
scope and terms of reference to the investigator. Timelines must agree with any
provisions of an applicable collective agreement or terms or conditions of
employment.
4.3
Investigations will be conducted in a timely and objective manner in accordance with
processes that:
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a. adhere to the principles of procedural fairness and natural justice;
b. are conducted with due diligence and do not prejudge an outcome; and
c. are free from bias.
4.4
If during the course of the investigation, the investigator identifies any concerns
beyond the scope of the investigation, the Associate Vice-President, Human
Resources or designate, may choose to revise the scope or terms of reference to
include those concerns as part of the investigation or request a separate memo be
submitted to summarize the concerns.
4.5
Upon completion of the investigation, the investigator will submit a written
investigation report to the Associate Vice-President, Human Resources or designate,
that will include, but not be limited to:
a. the details of the allegation investigated;
b. an account of the information assessed during the investigation, including
credibility of information received; and
c. findings of fact that, on a review of all the evidence, are assessed on a balance
of probabilities.
4.6
The Associate Vice-President, Human Resources or designate will notify the
individual who submitted the Report and to the individual whom the Report was made
against in writing, based on the investigation report, whether the allegation of
Violence and/or Harassment is substantiated.
4.7
The Associate Vice-President, Human Resources or designate, will assist the
applicable level of management in determining the appropriate course of action,
including preventative, remedial or disciplinary, to be taken in accordance with any
provisions of an applicable collective agreement or terms and conditions of
employment.
4.8
All records relating to the Report and resulting investigation will be retained in
accordance with the University’s Records Retention Schedule and any applicable
legislation and collective agreement.
B.
DEFINITIONS
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(1)
Discrimination:
means any action or threat of action related to a protected
ground in the Alberta Human Rights Act when the action or
threat of action results in loss of or limit on opportunities to
work or to fully participate in the workplace or offends the
dignity of the person. Protected grounds as defined by the
Human Rights Act are race, colour, ancestry, place of origin,
religious beliefs, gender, gender identity, gender expression,
age, physical disability, mental disability, marital status,
family status, source of income, and sexual orientation.
(2)
Domestic Violence:
means, whether at a worksite or work-related, the
threatened, attempted, or actual conduct of a person that
causes or is likely to cause physical or psychological harm,
and is used to control, intimidate or humiliate a person by a
person who has, or has had, a personal relationship.
(3)
Employee:
means individuals who are engaged to work for the
University under an employment contract, including but not
limited to faculty, staff, exempt, casual and management
employees.
(4)
Harassment:
means any single incident or repeated incidents of
objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment, bullying or
action by a person that the individual knows or ought
reasonably to know will or would cause offence or
humiliation, or adversely affects the indiv
idual’s health and
safety, and includes Discrimination and Sexual Harassment.
(5)
Report:
means the submission of a statement either verbally or in
writing to Human Resources in accordance with the
Procedure for Reporting Workplace Violence and
Harassment that provides details of an incident of Violence
or Harassment. A verbal statement will be transcribed and
confirmed as accurate by Human Resources.
(6)
Policy:
means the Workplace Violence and Harassment Prevention
Policy.
(7)
Sexual Harassment:
means unwanted or uninvited sexual advances, remarks,
gestures, sounds and actions that make a person feel
unsafe, intimidated, degraded or uncomfortable, or their
sexual integrity is compromised, even if the person
harassing claims to have been only joking or didn’t mean to
offend. It includes bullying or coercion of a sexual nature,
unwanted sexual attention or requests for sexual favours. It
can also include threatening and/or unwanted phone calls,
text messages, e-mails, letters and unwanted gifts.
(8)
Sexual Violence:
means any Violence, physical or psychological, carried out
without consent through a sexual means or by targeting
sexuality. This includes, but is not limited to, sexual assault,
Sexual Harassment, stalking and/or monitoring, indecent
exposure,
voyeurism,
degrading
sexual
imagery,
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distribution of images or video of a community member
without their consent.
(9)
University:
means Mount Royal University.
(10)
Violence:
means, whether at a work site or work-related, the
threatened, attempted, or actual conduct of a person that
causes or is likely to cause physical or psychological harm,
and includes Domestic Violence or Sexual Violence.
C.
RELATED POLICIES
● Code of Conduct – Employees
● Code of Student Conduct policy
● Environmental Health and Safety policy
● Offensive/Discriminatory Materials policy
● Protected Disclosure (“Whistleblower”) policy
● Gender-Based Violence and Misconduct Prevention Policy
D.
RELATED LEGISLATION
● Alberta Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
● Alberta Human Rights Act
● Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act
E.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
● Workplace Violence and Harassment Incident Report Form
F.
REVISION HISTORY
Date
(mm/dd/yyyy)
Description of
Change
Sections
Person who
Entered
Revision
(Position Title)
Person who
Authorized
Revision
(Position Title)
5/31/2023
Definitions
Definitions
Policy Advisor
AVP, HR
05/29/2025
Major
3
AVP Human
Resources
Deans Council