Effective August 31, 2011 Manitoba has revised the rules about workplace violence. Like in Ontario under their Bill 168, employers must now perform a formal assessment of the risks, develop a written policy when a risk is identified, train workers on the policy and ensure they comply with it. This must all be done in consultation with the committee/representative/workers.
Summary of requirements:
Definition of “violence” the precise wording of what is meant by violence has changes to include the attempted or actual exercise of physical force against a person and any threatening statement or behaviour that gives a person reasonable cause to believe that physical force will be used against the person.
Employer duties:
- Identify and assess risk of violence in the workplace in consultation with the health and safety committee or representative or the workers themselves as appropriate.
- Employers must develop a written policy if a risk of violence in the workplace is identified, and develop a policy in consultation with committee/representative/workers.
- Implement a training program and train workers in the policy - Click here for Online Training
- Ensure that workers comply with the policy
- Required statements to be included in the policy:
- Employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that no worker is subjected to violence in the
- workplace.
- Employer will take corrective action respecting any person under the employer’s direction who subjects a
- worker to violence.
- Employer will not disclose the name of a complainant or the circumstances related to the complaint –
- unless this is necessary to investigate the complaint or take corrective action, or is required by law.
- The policy is not intended to discourage or prevent the complainant from exercising any other legal rights.
- Required information to be included in the policy.
- How to eliminate the risk of violence to a worker
- Where elimination is not possible, how to minimize the risk
- How to report an incident of violence
- How to investigate an incident of violence.
- The policy must be posted in a conspicuous place.
- Employer must inform workers about the risk of violence at work.
- They must identify and provide information the nature and extent of risk including violence from persons who have a history of violent behaviour and who workers are likely to encounter in the course of their work.
The full Regulation can be found here
A useful Guideline for Preventing Harassment and Violence in the Workplace may be found at here
Online Learning Enterprises Inc. has developed an online Workplace Violence & Harassment course to help employers train employees in an economical and efficient fashion. This online program has the option to include company specific workplace policies and procedures for employees to follow. Please click here further details and a short demonstration of the course.
