HR Home › Forums › Answer for What can an employer in Ontario do to protect themselves when a female worker insists on putting a sexual harassment complaint with only the president and reporting manager then refuses to speak to anyone else??
A few issues to be aware of. First, you have a duty to investigate this claim. If the employee in question does not want to speak to HR, we would advise that you inform the employee that you have a harassment policy in place (if not, HR Insider has a template you can modify) that explain the investigation process. In addition, this may be criminal activity and require the employee to file a complaint with the police, because this is a personal cellphone number, it is unclear how the non-employee got the number. Ultimately, you letter will not waive you of any future liability.
We have some great courses on investigating sexual harassment and your liability, and your Account Manager can help you source this material.
Your employee may be afraid of coming forward, she may feel unsafe or that she will be targeted further. It is not uncommon for female employees to not report or follow through with a harassment claim, but you still have a duty to investigate and provide a safe workplace. Our sense is that you are hoping this letter puts it to bed and limits your exposure, it doesn’t.