By Jessica Landry
As of September 1, 2025, all provincially regulated workplaces in Nova Scotia are required to have a written workplace harassment prevention policy.
The new requirement is part of the changes made under the Stronger Workplaces for Nova Scotia Act, which amends the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations. The new legislation requires employers to have a workplace harassment prevention policy.
The new requirement was implemented in an effort to make workplaces safer for employees by preventing and addressing physical and psychological harassment in the workplace.
In the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations, “workplace harassment” is defined as:
“a single significant occurrence or a course of repeated occurrences of objectionable or unwelcome conduct, comment or action in the workplace, including bullying, that, whether intended or not, degrades, intimidates or threatens, and includes all of the following, but does not include any action taken by an employer or supervisor relating to the management and direction of an employee or the workplace:
(i) workplace harassment or bullying that is based on any personal characteristic, including, but not limited to a characteristic referred to in clauses 5(1)(h) to (v) of the Human Rights Act,
(ii) inappropriate sexual conduct, including, but not limited to, sexual solicitation or advances, sexually suggestive remarks or gestures, circulating or sharing inappropriate images or unwanted physical contact.”
In accordance with the amendments, employers are required to implement a new workplace harassment prevention policy or update an existing policy to meet certain criteria.
The workplace harassment prevention policy must include specific statements setting expectations about harassment in the workplace. The policy must include a version of the following statements:
• Every employee is entitled to a workplace free of harassment;
• The employer is committed to ensuring the workplace will be free of harassment;
• Every employee has an obligation not to harass others; and
• Employees are encouraged to report incidents of harassment.
The employer must also have procedures in place to prevent, respond to and investigate harassment.
The employer is responsible for ensuring that complaints are kept confidential, unless the disclosure of certain information is necessary, and ensure that the employer will not retaliate against an employee who has made a complaint.
The employer must also commit to investigating all complaints about workplace harassment and to taking action, where appropriate, to address incidents of workplace harassment.
Employees must be trained with respect to the workplace harassment prevention policy, and the employer must review the workplace harassment prevention policy every three years.
The amendments to the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations adding a mandatory workplace harassment prevention policy come into effect on September 1, 2025. Employers will have to ensure they comply with the changes and should review their workplace policies and make any required changes.
This article is for information only and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions or would like further information, you should consult a lawyer.
