Attention, Saskatchewan agricultural employers — the agricultural industry in Saskatchewan thrives on a dynamic and often diverse workforce, including many seasonal and temporary foreign workers.
While this diversity brings immense benefits, it also introduces unique legal complexities.
Employers must ensure a safe, healthy and respectful workplace for everyone. This article will delve into these critical considerations, highlighting the importance of robust policies against harassment, violence and discrimination to foster an inclusive and compliant environment for all.
Read Also
Starting a small business comes with legal considerations
This article sets out some of the legal considerations to start a business to sell home-grown product, such as vegetables, herbs, fruit or honey.
As of May 17, 2024, all provincially regulated workplaces in Saskatchewan are now legally required to have:
- violence prevention policy
- harassment policy
This requirement is due to amendments that were made to the Saskatchewan Employment Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020.
The legislation has also outlined express language and actions that must be included within these policies to be compliant. Interpretation of these changes has been strict.
Has your organization plowed through this? If not, below are a few elements you need to know and some tips to comply with the new requirements:
Investigations — Employers are now required to investigate all potential incidents of harassment or violence in the workplace, including any incidents that are not formally brought to the attention of the employer.
OHS committee consultation — Employers must consult with the occupational health committee, the occupational health and safety representative or the workers (if there is no committee/representative) before developing and implementing either a harassment or violence prevention policy. We therefore recommend doing this consultation before revising or implementing these policies.
Definition of harassment — All harassment policies must include the exact written definition of harassment outlined in the Saskatchewan Employment Act.
Violence risk assessment — Employers must also conduct a risk assessment to determine the risks of violence within its workplace. This includes gathering information of past incidents, assessing attributes of workers, the nature of the work environment and administrative practices to determine what risks and changes need to be put in place to adequately address the risk of workplace violence. The regulations require the violence prevention policy to identify:
- The types of positions and worksites that may have an increased chance of exposure to violence (if any).
- The nature and extent of the risk of potential violence in the workplace.
- The actions and procedures the employer will take to minimize or eliminate the risk of violence.
Training — Employers are required to provide violence prevention training to employees. Employees are to be credited for attendance at work and should not lose pay or other benefits for such training. The violence prevention training must cover:
- The means to recognize potentially violent situations.
- Procedures, work practices, administrative arrangements and engineering controls that have been developed to minimize or eliminate the risk to workers.
- The appropriate responses of workers to incidents of violence including how to obtain assistance.
- Procedures for reporting violence incidents.
Review of policy — All violence prevention policies must be reviewed, and if necessary, revised every three years and whenever there is a change of circumstances that may impact the health and safety of workers.
Availability — The legislation requires employers to post a copy of the harassment policy in a conspicuous place that is readily available for reference by workers and make readily available for reference by workers a copy of violence prevention policy and/or violence prevention plan.
Are your harassment and violence prevention policies compliant with the updated legislation?
Failing to have these policies in place, or to properly implement and follow them, can expose your operation to significant legal risks and penalties.
Beyond legal compliance, these policies are fundamental to creating a truly safe, healthy and productive work environment for everyone, which is especially important given the diverse and often transient nature of agricultural employment.
Stephanie Yang Morris is counsel at MLT Aikins LLP and Ethan Fiedelleck is a law student at MLT Aikins LLP. This article is of a general nature only and is not exhaustive of all possible legal rights or remedies. In addition, laws may change over time and should be interpreted only in the context of particular circumstances such that these materials are not intended to be relied upon or taken as legal advice or opinion. Readers should consult a legal professional for specific advice in any particular situation.
