Ontario compliance

Ontario Workplace Violence & Harassment Policy Requirements

Distribute your workplace violence and harassment policy and hold a signed, timestamped acknowledgment from each employee as evidence that every worker received it.

Start free trial Request a walkthrough

The short answer

Ontario doesn't set a yearly training requirement for workplace violence and harassment. It requires policies that you review at least once a year, programs that put them into practice, and information and instruction for every worker, including each new hire. A signed acknowledgment from each worker is the simplest proof that they received it.

Violence and harassment policies, reviewed at least annually
Every employerOHSA s. 32.0.1
Policies in writing and posted, on paper or electronically
6 or more workers regularly employedOHSA s. 32.0.1(2)–(3)
Violence program, including a risk assessment
Every employerOHSA ss. 32.0.2, 32.0.3
Harassment program: reporting, investigation, results
Every employerOHSA s. 32.0.6
Information and instruction for every worker
Every employer, including for new hiresOHSA ss. 32.0.5, 32.0.8

What the OHSA requires (Bills 168 and 132)

Bill 168 added Part III.0.1 (workplace violence and harassment) to the Occupational Health and Safety Act in 2010, and Bill 132 strengthened the harassment program and investigation duties in 2016, adding s. 32.0.8. Every provincially regulated employer in Ontario must:

  • prepare workplace violence and workplace harassment policies and review them at least annually; where six or more workers are regularly employed at the workplace, the policies must be in writing and posted in the workplace or in a readily accessible electronic format (s. 32.0.1(2)–(3)),
  • maintain programs to implement each policy, including a violence risk assessment and a harassment complaint and investigation process, and
  • provide every worker with information and instruction on the policies and programs.

The annual review applies to the policies and the harassment program. The law does not prescribe a fixed training interval, but every worker, including new hires, must be informed and instructed. A documented acknowledgment is the cleanest way to prove you did.

How Ethica helps

Ethica's course distributes your workplace violence and harassment policy to every employee and collects a tracked acknowledgment — timestamped, with a full audit trail you can export if the Ministry of Labour ever asks.

It launches with a workplace violence and harassment policy drafted from the OHSA and issued in your organization's name, so there's something concrete in front of your team on day one. Review it first, and swap in your own policy at any time. Ontario's Code of Practice to Address Workplace Harassment has further guidance and templates.

Launch it for everyone and new hires are assigned it automatically, so every person who joins receives the policy and leaves a signed, timestamped acknowledgment, not just the team you had when the policy was written.

Frequently asked questions

Does my small business really need written policies?
You need the policies, programs, and worker information regardless of size. The policies must be in writing and posted where six or more workers are regularly employed, or where an inspector orders it (OHSA s. 32.0.1(2)–(3)). Posting can be physical or in a readily accessible electronic format.
Is annual harassment training required in Ontario?
No fixed training interval is prescribed. The policies and the harassment program must be reviewed at least annually, and every worker must receive information and instruction on them — which Ethica documents with a tracked acknowledgment.
Can we use a sample policy as-is?
A sample is a starting point, whether it is the policy Ethica issues in your organization's name, our free template, or the examples in Ontario's Code of Practice. Adapt it to your workplace: names, reporting contacts and your complaint process. The harassment program must be developed in consultation with your joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative, if you have one.
What proof do we have that employees were informed?
Each acknowledgment is recorded with the employee, policy version, timestamp, and device details, and completions are exportable — a defensible record that information and instruction were provided.

If you were asked to prove it tomorrow

Delivering the training is the first step. The second is being able to show who completed it and when. Some of these rules require that record outright; for the rest it is your best evidence.

Workplace violence & harassment
The Act prescribes no record, but Ontario's Code of Practice says documentation of the information and instruction should be kept for at least a year. A per-employee acknowledgment showing which policy version each person saw, and when, is that documentation

Ethica keeps that record for you — every completion timestamped against the employee, exportable to CSV, or as a zip of certificates and signed acknowledgment records, the moment someone asks.

From nothing to an audit-ready record

No course files, no course authoring, no learner accounts. Ethica does the setup; you add your people.

1

Launch the course

Choose everyone, a role, or the people you pick. Each requirement comes with a due date you can change: 30 days after assignment for Workplace Violence & Harassment Policy.

2

Add your team

Add employees one by one or import a CSV. Courses you launch for everyone, or for a role, go to future hires automatically, so nobody is missed.

3

Export the proof

Ask "who is overdue on this?" and get the answer in seconds. Export completions to CSV, or download a zip of certificates and signed acknowledgments.

Related

Have the record before anyone asks for it

Start a free 30-day trial, launch the course, and add your team. That's the whole setup.

Start free trial See how it works

Policy drafted by Ethica from Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act. General information, not legal advice. Ethica is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Government of Ontario.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations against the current text of the legislation.