It?s certainly been an interesting start to the new year.

As COVID-19 and divisive politics rage on, the trucking and logistics industry continues to put its collective shoulder to the wheel in 2021 to keep the economy rolling. We?re thankful for truck drivers, dispatchers, technicians, and others who move the goods that are essential to our everyday lives.

To help keep these workers safe and productive, Canada Labour Code regulations came into force on January 1 aimed at reducing the risk of workplace harassment and violence. All federally regulated employers should be ready for the new rules, outlined in Bill C-65 and the Workplace Harassment and Violence Regulations.

We?re here with resources to help you comply. Here are seven to get you started:

1.Assess your workplace risk

Employers need to identify risks related to harassment and violence in their workplace and, within six months of identifying these risks, implement preventive measures.

Consider what you can do to assess and reduce these risks. Not sure where to start? Click here to see our risk assessment checklist.

2.Develop a policy against harassment and violence

The regulations have specific requirements for a workplace harassment and violence prevention policy. Make sure your policy complies and that it?s available to all employees. You have a responsibility to ensure all employees are aware of the policy and are appropriately trained.

We have resources to help you here, too. Click here to access our policy template and checklist.

3.Establish emergency procedures

Employers must have formal processes in place in the event of harassment or violence that poses immediate danger to the health and safety of an employee.

Our policy template has tips to help you.

4.Train your employees

All employees (including management) are required to undergo harassment and violence training by Jan. 1, 2022. New employees must receive training within three months of being hired. Employees must be re-trained at least once every three years and following any updates to the training (or if they are assigned to a new role where there is a greater risk of workplace harassment or violence).

Work with your policy committee, workplace committee, or health and safety representative to determine your training needs.

Click here to learn more about our Learning Centre and online courses.

5.Designate someone to receive complaints

Employers are required to appoint a ?designated recipient? of harassment and violence complaints. The designated recipient can be an individual or team that is appropriately trained to receive complaints, manage the complaint process, and follow the complaint-resolution procedures outlined in the regulations.

If you don?t have someone qualified for the role, they can become qualified through training.

Click here for resources to help you with the designated recipient role.

6.Communicate your policies

Employers must compile a list of nearby medical, psychological, and other support resources and share it with employees through the workplace harassment and violence prevention policy. They also must file an annual report to the Minister Labour documenting their policy and compliance.

Overall, it?s vital that senior leaders within your organization understand the importance of these regulations and the necessary commitment. Consider adding ?workplace harassment and violence discussion? to the next executive team meeting so there is a robust conversation about the new rules and how the company plans to address them.

Keeping this as a frequent agenda item will ensure it remains top of mind.

7.Talk to us

Trucking HR Canada has been working on materials to help address these changes to the Canada Labour Code for nearly two years now. Our training resources are specific to trucking and logistics and were developed specifically in response to Bill C-65 and the new workplace harassment and violence rules. We have worked with Labour Canada, employment lawyers, labour groups, and HR professionals to make sure our standards of excellence are met.

We all benefit from workplaces that are free of harassment and violence. And we are here to help employers make that happen.

The new year will bring important changes to the Canada Labour Code. Come January 1, 2021, employers will need to ensure they maintain compliance with new Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (the Regulations).? Part of ensuring compliance involves adequately and clearly communicating the regulatory changes to employees. This entails adhering to HR best practices of being transparent about these relevant changes.

Amongst other obligations, employers will need to develop a new company policy on harassment and violence, provide on-going education to employees, and develop a process to address and report claims of harassment and violence in the workplace. Employers should be mindful of the three main elements of the new anti-harassment and violence legislation contained in Bill C-65:

• Prevent incidents of harassment and violence
• Respond effectively to those incidents
• Support affected employees

Here are our top 3 tips to help you get started:

1. COMMUNICATE THE CHANGES

• Share the message visually in the workplace; display policies in common areas – such as lunchrooms or other staff common areas
• Send out digital as well as hardcopies of new policies in the form of internal handbooks or guide updates
• Hold a mandatory virtual staff meeting to communicate policy updates

2. PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEEDBACK

• Significant policy change requires a more immersive communication process so that employees understand the change at hand
• Offer opportunities to follow-up or offer more guidance as necessary

• Allow for open-ended sessions where employees can vocalize their feedback, and allow for anonymous feedback and questions after training sessions
• Provide a welcoming environment for employees to feel safe and to be able to vocalize all their questions, concerns, or general comments
• Address employee feedback openly, frankly, and in a timely manner

3. LEVERAGE YOUR TEAM

• A good way to communicate a new policy or procedure is by identifying leaders within your team who can be ?champions? amongst their peers
• Leveraging leaders on your team can help make sure that employees can raise any questions or concerns
• Supervisors or managers with a solid understanding of new policies and procedures are better placed to help employees and can ensure that appropriate protocols are being followed

Employers have increased responsibilities in matters of workplace health and safety and a duty to prevent, respond to, and support employees in matters of harassment and violence.

While communicating crucial information and change in the workplace is challenging, it can be simplified with the proper tools and resources to support you.

We can help you make sense of these new regulatory changes.? Our landing page has industry-specific tools and resources to help you learn more about anti-harassment and violence obligations. Starting in early January 2021, Trucking HR Canada will also offer affordable training that is industry specific and designed to help you meet the requirements in the new Regulations. Click HERE for more.

Federally regulated employers will have new obligations to address workplace harassment and violence starting on January 1, 2021. Making sense of what?s required under these changes to the Canada Labour Code can be a challenge. What?s more, the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations (the Regulations) introduce many concepts and practices that might be new and unfamiliar.

On November 30, 2020, Trucking HR Canada hosted an informational webinar to help federally regulated stakeholders prepare for the new Regulations.? Key details were discussed about the training courses and resources that will help employers meet new legal requirements. ?We partnered with Miguel Mangalindan ? a senior associate from Monkhouse Law who specializes in employment law. Miguel provided an insightful overview of the ins-and-outs of new employer obligations and explained the first steps that employers can take to get ready for January 1^st. ?After his presentation, THRC fielded questions from the audience.

One theme stood out in the Q&A ??who is the Designated Recipient,?who can be appointed as a Designated Recipient, and?how does this work?

We heard you loud and clear. Let?s take a look.

Who or what is the Designated Recipient?

The Designated Recipient is a person, or team at your organization that the employer must appoint to respond to workplace harassment and violence complaints. They will receive complaints, manage the complaint process, and follow the complaint resolution procedures outlined under the Regulations. It is best if the Designated Recipient is not someone in a managerial role. This will help ensure that all employees can feel comfortable reporting a complaint. It creates a situation in which employees don?t have to fear being punished, disciplined, or retaliated against for raising a workplace issue with a superior.

Second, the Designated Recipient must be appropriately trained?before?taking on any duties associated with their role. When searching for the perfect candidate, bear in mind that if you don?t have someone qualified for the role yet, they can become qualified through training.

We?re here to help

Unfortunately, there is no ?instructional manual? to performing this role. But to support our employers, THRC will soon release a new resource focused entirely on all things ?Designated Recipient?.

You can expect the following details:

• The role of the Designated Recipient;
• Typical work duties of the Designated Recipient;
• Who can be the Designated Recipient;
• Designated Recipient training requirements, including training considerations;
• Competency Profile for the Designated Recipient; and
• Guidance on Identifying Candidates for the Designated Recipient.

This guide will help employers make informed choices on their next steps as they look to appoint an individual or group to play this vital role.

Visit our?HR & Training Resources?page to review our suite of templates, checklists, and informative documents focused on Bill C-65 and the new Regulations. Starting in January 2021, Trucking HR Canada will be releasing a suite of industry-specific training modules that provide Regulation-based instruction for employers, employees, and in incident response. Designated Recipients will be able to complete the full training program to obtain all the knowledge they need to understand key rights and obligations introduced by Bill C-65, including how to proceed during the complaint resolution process.

To find out more, keep an eye on our brand-new Anti-Harassment & Violence landing page, where we will continue to post updates on tools, resources, and training modules designed to support the trucking and logistics industry in adapting to, and complying with new Canada Labour Code requirements in this important area.