Sexual harassment is unacceptable in the workplace. Sexual harassment is behaviour that is sexual or romantic in nature (including comments or gestures) that is understood to be, or should be understood to be, unwelcome. Any reputable employer will not tolerate sexual harassment. Sexual harassment can also be defined as harassment based on sex, sexuality, or gender expression that is not “sexual or romantic” in nature. 

Employers must have processes and plans to respond to these kinds of issues. Your employees' operational health and safety is your responsibility, and there are legal consequences if you do not act.

Sexual harassment complaints are complicated because this kind of harm is experienced differently from person to person, depending on a wide range of factors, such as a person’s age, gender, culture, race, or ability, and can be experienced by anyone. Sexual harassment is often subtle but can include elements of coercion (making victims of harassment do something through force or threats). The key is that sexual harassment takes many forms, and each person will experience this kind of harm differently.

Here are some examples of sexual harassment:

• Sexual or sexist jokes
• Sexually suggestive, demeaning, or disrespectful comments and conversations (often called “locker room talk”)
• Unwanted comments about a person’s sex life, gender identity, body, or sexuality 
• Flirtation
• Showing inappropriate sexual images like pornography where others can see it
• Advances and propositions, especially if the harasser can give or deny a benefit based on how the victim responds to the advance 
• Requests for sexual favors 
• Sending sexual images, texts, or emails 
• Sexually suggestive looks or gestures 
• Demanding dates or sexual favours
• Using language or behaviour that is transphobic, homophobic, or queerphobic in general 
• Unwanted physical proximity 

These are just some examples. Sexual harassment includes any sexual behaviour done without consent that upsets or offends.

Sexual cyberbullying can also be considered sexual harassment. Sexual cyberbullying involves using technology to harass or coerce someone in a sexually explicit manner. This can include requesting explicit photos or messages, sending unwanted sexually explicit photos or messages, sharing sexually explicit messages and photos online without consent, and threatening to send private photos online to coerce someone.

It’s also important to know that an allegation of sexual harassment is more serious when the person sexually harassing is in a position of power, trust, or authority. If you are sexually harassing someone and you’re in a position of power, this is considered a breach of trust and can result in serious consequences. 

As noted above, employers must have processes and plans in place to respond to issues of sexual harassment. Your employees' operational health and safety is your responsibility, and there are legal consequences if you do not act. Failure to address these kinds of harm could:

• Lead to a civil lawsuit;
• Lead to Human Rights Commission complaints;
• Result in a grievance in a unionized environment;
• Lead to a toxic work environment;
• High turnover rate;
• Damage reputation;
• Damage morale and productivity; and
• A loss of profit.

It’s important to foster a psychologically safe workplace that is harassment-free. Employees should feel comfortable bringing issues to management and trust that they can be addressed safely and fairly. Civil lawsuits and Human Rights complaints may have a negative and lasting impact on your business. 

Sexual harassment is unacceptable in the workplace. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your workplace is free of sexual harassment. A sexual harassment policy should be part of your workplace's operational health and safety policies. It is important to have a specific, clear policy that defines sexual harassment, the work done to prevent harassment, how people can file complaints, and how you will address those complaints (e.g. hiring an external investigator). A clear policy provides the framework and foundation for the employer and employee to understand the rules, how the complaint process works, and information about the investigation process.

It can also lay out how the team can work together to prevent sexual harassment before it happens or provide information for those who witness it in the workplace. 

Employers should make sure that their policy has a plan for sexual harassment that occurs internally and sexual harassment that occurs from clients or the general public. Employees should be protected from sexual harassment from their colleagues and the people they serve. Make sure your policy has a plan for how you will handle sexual harassment by members of the public, your clients, and even colleagues from other organizations. You want everyone to know that you will not tolerate sexual harassment from anyone interacting with your business in any way, shape, or form. A great example of this is in the service industry: many employers have policies that forbid any kind of sexual harassment toward their employees and let people know that if they sexually harass workers, they will be asked to leave the premises. Make sure you have a plan that works for your particular business. 

When an employer does not have a workplace sexual harassment policy, it can leave the employer vulnerable and without a clear plan to respond to a complaint of sexual harassment if a complaint proceeds to a formal judicial or commission process. There could be additional consequences if a policy is not in place. 

You can also minimize and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace by: 

• Ensuring that all members of your team, and especially management and supervisors, are educated about your sexual harassment policy and their rights and obligations under this policy, 
• Ensuring that all members of your team are familiar with the procedures to file a sexual harassment complaint in the workplace; 
• Ensuring that all members of your team have mandatory training about sexual harassment itself so everyone knows what it is, why it’s harmful, and how to prevent it
• Taking complaints of sexual harassment seriously and acting promptly to address the issues,
• Modelling behaviour that demonstrates that sexual harassment will not be tolerated and

If you don’t feel prepared to handle a sexual harassment complaint, it is best to look externally for a consultant or lawyer who is qualified in sexual harassment complaint processes. 

When you receive a sexual harassment complaint, you are legally obligated to conduct an investigation. You must take it seriously and move quickly to resolve the issue. The moment you are aware of the issue, your response will either increase or decrease your risk as an employer. 

As heavily emphasized here, it is vital that you have a sexual harassment policy. Your policy should clearly outline how you will handle complaints of sexual harassment. (Note: Under Bill 464, it will be legally required for businesses to have a Sexual Harassment Policy in Nova Scotia  on September 1st, 2025)

It’s important to have a competent and qualified investigator to oversee a complaint. When people are not qualified to conduct investigations, they may make the situation worse, and poorly performed investigations can add risk to your organization, especially if the issue escalates to external channels. If no one on your team has investigation training, you should consider hiring an external investigator to review the issue. 

We recommend finding an investigator who specializes in sexual harassment investigations, who brings a trauma-informed approach, and who is attuned to the complexity of these matters. Hiring an external investigator can be expensive and time-consuming, especially for smaller organizations, but it is the safest way for organizations to address a complaint of sexual harassment. 

Given the costs of handling a sexual harassment complaint, this is yet another reason why prevention efforts are so important. 

If you decide to conduct your own workplace investigation, we have resources in our Employer Best Practices Toolkit to assist with that. 

A power imbalance happens when one person has more control or influence over another. This is common in workplaces—for example, a supervisor has more authority than a shift worker. While power imbalances are natural in job roles, they can sometimes lead to unfair treatment, employees feeling unheard, or difficulty speaking up about problems.

Power imbalances are especially important to recognize in sexual harassment cases. When someone has more authority, it can make it harder for the other person to say no or express that certain comments or actions are unwanted. For example, if a supervisor makes sexual advances toward a shift worker, the shift worker may feel pressured to go along with it because the supervisor has control over their job, hours, or future opportunities.

If an employee brings forward a sexual harassment complaint, take time to consider the power dynamics between the people involved. A power imbalance can affect how the situation unfolds and how safe an employee feels in speaking up. Understanding this can help you handle the complaint fairly and support all employees in a respectful workplace.

It is important to assess the risk of your employees being sexually harassed. Performing a Risk Assessment will help you identify blind spots and the risk of sexual harassment in your place. A risk assessment can also help you identify a practical plan to prevent or minimize the risk of sexual harassment.

We've developed an interactive quiz to help you think about all the potential risks there may be for sexual harassment in your workplace. You can check it out here! 

Use the following template to conduct an annual workplace audit for sexual harassment risks.

You can download the Risk Assessment Template file here.

Training is a critical part of Sexual Harassment prevention in the workplace. Mandating training about sexual harassment shows your entire team that you take sexual harassment seriously and that you will not tolerate it in the workplace. It also ensures that your team clearly understands what sexual harassment is and what behaviour is unacceptable at work. 

As we’ve heavily emphasized, you also want to have a sexual harassment policy, which training should also review. 

Training should include: 

• A clear review of your policy, including where people can bring complaints and how complaints will be addressed
• A review of what constitutes sexual harassment and the fact that it is not tolerated in your workplace 
• A clear description of what respectful and professional conduct looks like at work, emphasizing that this kind of behaviour is expected from all employees

Training should also be a mandatory part of onboarding, and you should think about a process that ensures periodic policy reviews for existing staff to ensure everyone is on the same page. Further, if you make changes to your policy, you should notify your entire team of these changes and why they were made. 

We also recommend that you make a digital version of the policy available to your employees and hard copies available in easy-to-access workplace areas, such as lunchrooms and common areas.

Legal Information Society is pleased to offer free training modules, which offer certificates upon completion, in their Employers Best Practices Toolkit by clicking here. 

We have developed a Workplace Bystander Training, aimed to provide your employee with the tools to prevent and address sexual harassment in the workplace. You can also view and take our trainings by clicking here. 

The Legal Information Society of Nova Scotia (LISNS) has created a video series to help Nova Scotians understand their rights when it comes to workplace sexual harassment and sexual violence. These videos explain key legal protections, including human rights laws, workplace responsibilities, and available support services. The series is designed to provide clear, accessible legal information for workers, employers, and community members across the province.

View the whole playlist and individual videos below. 

How are Human Rights Protected in Canada

Legal Supports are Available for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence Survivors

Once an investigation is complete, you should have found whether or not the sexual harassment has, likely has, or has not occurred. This is called a balance of probabilities - meaning that the information is more likely to be true than not, or the event most likely occurred.  

At this point, you should also understand what the person harmed is seeking and how the person who caused the harm has responded to the allegations. 

Your policy should outline potential remedies available following an investigation. 

Since sexual harassment is a complex issue, it’s important that your response is proportional to the severity of the harm caused and that your response is aligned with your policy. Disciplining employees always requires a careful review of all of the circumstances. You should seek legal advice if you believe serious discipline is warranted but are uncertain about terminating an employee. 

Collaborating with the person harmed is the best way to find an appropriate remedy. Employers should do their best to honour the needs and wishes of the person harmed, as much as possible, in alignment with their sexual harassment policy. It’s important to consider all the options before proceeding with an action. 

It’s also important to assess a broad set of factors. Is the sexual harassment an isolated incident, or is there a pattern of behaviour and previous disciplinary action against the employee who is alleged to have caused harm? If the person who may have caused harm disputes or denies the outcome of an investigation and has had previous disciplinary action for similar behaviour, you may decide to take more serious action. If the person who caused harm is responsible and accountable for their actions and wants to make things right, you will likely have an easier time finding an agreeable outcome for both the person harmed and the person who caused harm. 

Potential outcomes or consequences in response to sexual harassment complaints can include: 

• Corrective Actions like inviting the person who caused harm to attend training, coaching or awareness-raising activities. This path is best if the person who caused harm wants to make things right. 
• Disciplinary Actions like verbal or written warnings. This could include suspensions, demotions, barriers to promotions/pay increases or dismissals.
• Safety measures like ensuring that the person harmed does not have to work directly with the person who caused the harm.
• Providing an Apology to those who were harmed.
• Structural or procedural changes to your organization if the investigation found areas of risk in your organization, like safety issues or a toxic workplace climate and culture
• Access to support for the person harmed, like counselling sessions 
• Something else that aligns with the needs of the person harmed. Remember - you want to ensure that their needs and wishes are respected as much as possible and aligned with your policy. The person harmed may have specific desires - be flexible where you can be! 

If you do not feel comfortable conducting an investigation, or if you do not feel anyone is qualified to conduct this investigation, you will want to hire an external investigator to assist. Ultimately, you want to ensure a fair and thorough investigation. If there are issues or the complainant or the accused feels unsatisfied, the complaint may still escalate to an external channel such as a civil court or a Human Rights Commission. So the process must be handled with care by someone qualified.

Remember that you must take action as soon as you receive an investigation report. If, for example, an investigation raises concerns about employee safety and you do not address these issues when you are made aware of them, you are increasing your risk for future actions against your organization. You want to ensure that your response is solid so that if the matter escalates to external channels (for example, a human rights complaint), you can demonstrate that you have acted responsibly and aligned with your policy.

When it comes to creating healthy workplace cultures, how you respond to incidents of harm has a tremendous impact on the kind of workplace culture you foster. You want your employees to know that you take complaints seriously, listen to employee concerns, and take action to address issues as they emerge. 

If it does result in a Human Rights Commission Complaint or a Civil Lawsuit, it is critical that you speak with a lawyer.