Sexual Harassment, Harassment and Bullying
Toronto workplace harassment or bullying may be grounds for constructive dismissal
Workplace harassment and bullying take many forms. Inappropriate behaviour, exclusion, or intimidation can, over time, make a job unsustainable. Here is what you need to know about harassment and bullying in Toronto workplaces.
harassment and bullying? What is your Toronto employer’s responsibility? What should you do if you are being personally harassed or bullied in the workplace? Where can bullying or harassment occur? What is sexual harassment? What should you do if you are facing workplace sexual harassment in Toronto?
What is workplace harassment and bullying?
Workplace harassment and bullying can be overt or subtle. Legitimate performance management, feedback, or discipline does not constitute harassment. The distinction often lies in pattern, intent, and impact. Bullying or harassment in the workplace can take many forms, including:
- Violence
- Intimidation
- Threats – verbal or written
- Offensive or inappropriate jokes
- Inappropriate teasing
- Inappropriate touching
- Offensive gestures
- Insults
- Public shaming/embarrassment
What is your Toronto employer’s responsibility?
Employers in Toronto have a legal obligation to provide a workplace free from harassment and bullying. That duty does not end with having a policy on paper. It requires taking complaints seriously, responding promptly, and conducting a fair investigation that leads to meaningful action where warranted.
What should you do if you are being personally harassed or bullied in the workplace?
Bullying or harassment can come from supervisors, colleagues, clients, customers, or third parties connected to your work. Under Ontario’s employment law and the Human Rights Code, you have the right to a safe and respectful work environment, a workplace free from harassment and bullying.
You may hesitate to raise concerns, particularly where power dynamics are involved or prior complaints went nowhere. In some situations, remaining at work feels impossible. Where harassment or bullying has made the workplace intolerable, the law may treat the situation as a constructive dismissal, allowing you to leave while still pursuing severance.
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Where can bullying or harassment occur?
Harassment is not limited to the office. It can occur while working remotely, at client sites, during work-related social events, or through digital communication outside normal hours.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is defined in Canada as “unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that affects the work environment or leads to adverse job-related consequences for the victims of the harassment…” It can include sexual comments, gestures, unwanted physical contact, repeated solicitations, or behaviour that creates a hostile or degrading work environment. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Verbal comments of a sexual nature, including dirty jokes
- Bragging about sexual conquests
- Unreasonable solicitations, such as repeatedly asking for dates or other unwelcome physical contact
- Gestures
- Physical conduct
- Inappropriate touching
- Innuendos
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What should you do if you are facing workplace sexual harassment in Toronto?
If you are dealing with sexual harassment, you may have more than one legal avenue available. Options can include a human rights complaint, a civil claim, or other statutory remedies, depending on the circumstances and your objectives.
Speaking with a workplace harassment lawyer in Toronto allows you to understand those options before taking steps that cannot be undone. The goal is informed choice, not escalation for its own sake.
How can a Whitten & Lublin workplace harassment and bullying lawyer in Toronto help empower you?
Harassment cases involve workplace dynamics, legal obligations, and personal consequences that require careful handling.
At Whitten & Lublin, we help Toronto employees understand where they stand and what the law realistically offers. We take the time to understand your situation, then provide direct advice about options, risks, and likely outcomes based on our extensive experience.
Our skills, experience and reputation are widely recognized in the industry, leading to our being named one of Canada’s top Employment and Labour Law Firms by Canadian Lawyer Magazine for 4 years, most recently in 2024.
If you have experienced harassment in your Toronto workplace, contact Whitten & Lublin to get the support and guidance you need to protect your rights. Take your power back with experienced Toronto workplace harassment and bullying lawyers in your corner.
If someone at work is targeting you, singling you out, or creating conditions that make it difficult to do your job, you may be dealing with workplace harassment. In Toronto workplaces, this often shows up as repeated verbal abuse, public embarrassment, threats, discriminatory remarks, or behaviour brushed off as humour that consistently crosses the line.
If your work conditions feel hostile or unbearable, it’s important to document incidents and seek guidance from a workplace harassment lawyer.
Employees in Toronto have several legal avenues. Where harassment is connected to protected grounds such as sex, race, disability, or family status, a human rights complaint may be available.
If an employer knew, or should have known, about the harassment and failed to act, a civil claim may also be an option. In more severe cases, a toxic work environment can amount to constructive dismissal, allowing an employee to leave the job while still pursuing severance.
The right approach depends on the facts, the workplace dynamics, and what outcome you are seeking.
In Toronto workplaces, harassment most often shows up as conduct that wears someone down over time. It can involve bullying, intimidation, exclusion, or behaviour that creates an atmosphere where one person is routinely undermined or singled out. The conduct does not need to be dramatic or overt.
Sexual harassment involves unwelcome conduct tied to sex, gender, or sexuality, such as sexual comments, intrusive questions, unwanted physical contact, or pressure framed as humour or interest.
Both forms of harassment can come from supervisors, colleagues, clients, or others connected to the workplace.
Performance management is not unlawful simply because it is uncomfortable. Employers are entitled to set expectations, address performance issues, and enforce standards.
Being singled out repeatedly, disciplined in public, subjected to shifting standards, or targeted after raising concerns can indicate that performance management is being used as a cover for something else. Context is key, including how others are treated and whether the employer’s conduct escalates rather than resolves issues.
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