Workplace Harassment Code of Practice Template — New Brunswick

Published by: Canada Policy Manual
Jurisdiction: New Brunswick
Last updated: August 13, 2026
Document status: Published public template — approved for publication by Canada Policy Manual on August 13, 2026
Canonical page: https://canadapolicymanual.com/free-policies/workplace-harassment-policy/new-brunswick

Important use notice

This is a rigorous drafting template, not legal advice or a promise of legal immunity. The governing jurisdiction depends on the workplace and undertaking; federally regulated status depends primarily on the undertaking, not simply the employee's physical location. Laws, regulator interpretations and sector-specific rules may change after the last-updated date.

Before an employer issues or relies on this policy, it must:

1. confirm that this is the correct jurisdiction and check all sector-specific requirements;
2. replace every square-bracketed field and delete all drafting notes;
3. complete all legally required consultation, joint development, assessment, posting, availability and training steps;
4. insert workplace-specific hazards, controls, reporting recipients, emergency contacts and support services;
5. reconcile the policy with collective agreements, contracts, privacy, human rights, accessibility, professional, child/vulnerable-person, whistleblower and other applicable rules;
6. obtain qualified jurisdiction-specific legal advice for its operations and workforce; and
7. keep evidence of approval, communication, training, investigation, corrective action and every required review.

Legal requirement identifies a rule expressly reflected in cited occupational health and safety legislation. Regulator-stated expectation or adopted code method identifies official guidance or an approved code method. Enhanced control identifies a stronger administrative practice and is not represented as a statutory rule unless the policy expressly says otherwise.

Quebec is intentionally excluded. Do not use this template for a Quebec workplace.

Code of Practice for Workplace Harassment

1. Code identification

This code was developed and will be reviewed in consultation with [applicable party]. It is readily available to every employee and to an officer on request. It will be posted in a prominent place at the place of employment as expressly required by OHS Act s. 50(4).

2. Commitment, scope and definition

[Employer] will provide a workplace free from harassment so far as reasonably practicable, ensure each employee can report without fear of retaliation, investigate and document reports, inform affected employees, take corrective action and follow up. Every employee must follow this code.

It applies to employees, supervisors, managers, owners, directors, contractors, volunteers and work-related third parties, and to conduct at any place of employment or materially connected work activity, including remote work, travel, training, conferences, employer events, client locations, vehicles, lodging and digital communication.

For this code, harassment follows General Regulation 91-191: objectionable or offensive behaviour known or reasonably ought to be known to be unwelcome, including bullying and behaviour that may occur once or repeatedly and threatens health or safety; it includes sexual harassment and excludes reasonable management conducted appropriately. Where the Regulation's wording changes, it controls.

Examples include intimidation, threat, abuse, humiliation, degrading or discriminatory joke/image/comment, malicious rumour, hazing, cyber-harassment, stalking, repeated exclusion, work sabotage, sexualized conduct or communication, unwanted touching/advance, a work benefit tied to sexual conduct, and retaliation. Reasonable scheduling, direction, evaluation, investigation, discipline and organizational change are not harassment when lawful, good-faith and respectful.

3. Responsibilities and prevention

The implementation lead ensures resources, consultation, availability, training, prompt response, competent investigation, documentation, corrective action and annual/triggered review. Supervisors intervene, receive and immediately escalate reports, protect safety and evidence, maintain privacy, implement interim controls and prevent retaliation. Employees refrain, report experienced/observed conduct promptly, cooperate honestly, preserve evidence and respect privacy.

At annual review and after a relevant incident/change, [Employer] considers culture, prior reports, workload/staffing, isolated work, public/client interaction, enforcement/service refusal, digital systems, workforce vulnerability, third-party risk, and any overlap with workplace violence. Controls include role clarity, staffing, respectful-leadership standards, client/contract terms, security/access, communication and early conflict support.

Separately, every employer must assess and document the risk of violence under General Regulation 91-191 s. 374.1 in consultation with every applicable committee or representative or, if none, employees. The assessment is made available to those workplace parties and to an officer on request and reviewed when conditions change or an officer orders it. A written violence code is also required where 20 or more employees are regularly employed, in the listed occupations/workplaces, or where the assessment identifies a violence risk, in accordance with the thresholds in s. 374.2 as amended in 2025. [Employer]'s companion violence code is at [location].

4. Reporting and response

Report orally or in writing to [primary] or [alternate] if the normal channel is involved, unavailable or conflicted. A witness, representative or third party may report. A supervisor with knowledge must escalate. No form, confrontation or prior informal step is required.

Include names, exact words/actions, dates/locations, frequency, witnesses, records, impact and immediate needs if known. Anonymous, late or incomplete reports are assessed fairly. In immediate danger, move to safety, call 911/local emergency services, use [security] and seek first aid/medical help.

The recipient acknowledges promptly (enhanced target: 2 business days), screens emergency/violence, conflict, accommodation, reprisal and evidence risks, explains process/privacy/representation/external options and preserves records. Interim measures may include no-contact, reporting/schedule/location changes, security, remote work, paid leave or reassignment. They are neutral, proportionate, reviewed at least every 30 days and should not penalize the reporting employee.

5. Resolution and investigation

Voluntary informal resolution may address suitable lower-level conduct but is not mandatory and is generally inappropriate for violence, serious sexual/discriminatory conduct, retaliation, coercion or marked power imbalance. The employer will not use settlement to avoid a required investigation, correction or legal report.

The employer investigates promptly and documents the complaint/report, evidence, steps, findings and actions. The investigator must be impartial and competent; use written terms; identify allegations/tests; notify parties; permit appropriate representation/support; interview separately; gather relevant records; disclose sufficient particulars to the responding person; allow a meaningful response and fair reply to material conflicts; assess credibility neutrally; and decide on the balance of probabilities. Enhanced target: 90 calendar days with written reasons and monthly status updates if longer.

The worker who reportedly experienced harassment and the respondent will each be informed in writing of whether allegations were substantiated in whole/in part/not substantiated and of corrective measures relevant to them, while preserving the minimum necessary privacy. WorkSafeNB guidance permits the information to be given orally or in writing; [Employer] adopts writing as the stronger internal control. The employer is not required by this code to disclose the complete report or exact discipline. Corrective action may include education, direction, coaching, monitoring, work redesign, security/contract action, reassignment, discipline up to termination or third-party exclusion. Follow-up at roughly 30, 90 and 180 days assesses effectiveness and retaliation.

6. Privacy, reprisal, records and training

The employer will not disclose identity or circumstances except as necessary to investigate, take corrective action, inform affected employees, protect health/safety or comply with law. Disclosure is limited to the minimum information necessary. This does not prevent legally protected external reporting or confidential support/advice.

Reprisal, threat, ostracism, adverse work action, witness/evidence interference or retaliatory complaint is prohibited. An unsubstantiated allegation is not bad faith; deliberate fabrication may be examined separately and fairly.

Training is provided to each employee and each supervisor responsible for an employee on the code, recognition, reporting, response and role duties. The employer keeps training records and makes them available to an officer on request. Case records are secured separately. Enhanced retention: case files 7 years after closure; code, consultation, annual reviews and training for their active life plus 7 years, subject to a longer legal hold.

7. Review and legal rights

The code is reviewed at least annually in consultation with the applicable workplace party, and whenever conditions change or an officer orders review. Revisions, rationale, consultation and retraining are documented. This code does not limit access to WorkSafeNB, the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission, police, workers' compensation, a union/arbitrator, privacy regulator or court/tribunal. WorkSafeNB enforces compliance with the OHS legislation and code-of-practice duties but does not investigate or settle the underlying harassment allegation; the employer remains responsible for that investigation.

New Brunswick authoritative sources

• General Regulation 91-191 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act — Part XXII.I — the publisher page simultaneously states “Current to 1 January 2024” and “consolidated to June 30, 2026.”
• New Brunswick Occupational Health and Safety Act — the publisher page states current/consolidated to June 7, 2024.
• WorkSafeNB — March 2026 guide: Developing Workplace Violence and Harassment Codes of Practice
• WorkSafeNB — Harassment: What employers need to know
• New Brunswick Human Rights Act (also citable as the Human Rights Code) — the official page consulted was marked current to January 1, 2024; verify later amendments before deployment.

Operational schedules and forms

These schedules form part of this New Brunswick policy unless governing law requires a different process. They have been separated and specialized for this jurisdiction. A jurisdiction-specific rule overrides a generic target. Do not issue blank schedules as if they were completed controls.

Mandatory New Brunswick schedule preset

Insert this policy's express consultation, posting/availability, investigation, notice, training, review and companion-violence rules; never replace them with generic 90-day, annual or 7-year enhanced defaults.

Schedule A — Pre-issue implementation certificate

The accountable officer and implementation lead must initial each item and attach evidence.

Certification: We have not treated publication as implementation. Based on the attached evidence, the selected policy is customized, consulted on, communicated, trained and operational at the workplaces listed.
Senior officer: [Name/signature/date]
Implementation lead: [Name/signature/date]
Required workplace party acknowledgement: [Name/role/signature/date; acknowledgement is not a waiver of disagreement]

Schedule B — Workplace harassment and violence hazard assessment

Complete separately for each materially different workplace, work group or remote/camp setting. A check mark alone is not an assessment; document evidence, people consulted and control effectiveness.

B1. Assessment metadata

B2. Risk inventory and action plan

Rate likelihood and consequence using the employer's approved risk matrix. Psychological, sexual and discriminatory harm must not be discounted because no physical injury occurred.

B3. Control hierarchy and sign-off

For every high or critical risk, document why elimination is not reasonably practicable before relying only on policy or training. Consider elimination/substitution of the triggering activity; engineering/physical/digital controls; staffing/work-design/administrative controls; training/supervision; and emergency/support measures. Identify residual risk communicated to workers and the minimum necessary threat information.

Approved controls and funding: [ ]
Unresolved joint/consultation issues and governing resolution process: [ ]
Next review date or earlier triggers: [ ]
Signatures/decision record: [ ]

Schedule C — Report / notice of occurrence form

Use of this form is optional unless law requires particular information. Accept oral, accessible-language, representative-assisted and alternative-format reports.

C1. Reporter and people involved

• Reporter name/contact (optional for a witness where law permits anonymous notice): [ ]
• Person allegedly affected / preferred safe contact: [ ]
• Person(s) whose conduct is at issue / role / employer, if known: [ ]
• Witnesses or people with relevant information: [ ]
• Representative, interpreter, support or accommodation requested: [ ]
• Is any normal reporting recipient involved or conflicted? [Yes/no/details]

C2. Occurrence

• Date(s), time(s), physical/virtual location(s) and platform(s): [ ]
• Exact words, actions, displays, messages, gestures, contact or threats, in chronological order: [ ]
• Why the conduct was unwelcome or its health/safety/work impact: [ ]
• Related protected characteristic, sexual conduct, violence or domestic/family violence concern, if the reporter chooses to identify it: [ ]
• Was anyone told the conduct was unwelcome? [Optional; a “no” does not invalidate the report]
• Prior related occurrences/reports and response: [ ]

C3. Evidence, safety and outcome sought

• Emails, chats, images, audio/video, documents, access/security records, notes or other evidence and where preserved: [ ]
• Immediate or continuing danger; weapons; stalking; self-harm; medical/first-aid concern; contact with police/security: [ ]
• Reprisal, evidence-loss, conflict, privacy, housing/transport or immigration/precarity concern: [ ]
• Interim measure, support, accommodation or communication preference requested: [ ]
• Resolution preference, recognizing the employer may still have a duty to investigate/correct: [ ]

Accuracy: I believe the information is true and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand the employer will share information only as necessary for safety, a fair process, corrective action or law and cannot promise absolute secrecy.
Signature / recorded oral confirmation / date: [ ]
Received by / date/time / channel / case number: [ ]

Schedule D — Recipient intake, safety and conflict checklist

Complete immediately and update whenever risk changes.

1. Jurisdiction and coverage: confirm governing law, workplace, worker status, former-worker rule and any sector-specific or collective-agreement process.
2. Emergency triage: imminent danger; medical/first aid; suicide/self-harm; sexual assault; child/vulnerable-person duty; weapon; stalking; domestic/family violence; police/security; serious-incident reporting; scene/evidence protection.
3. Conflict screen: recipient, investigator, decision-maker, counsel, representative, interpreter, senior leadership, family/community or reporting relationships. Record actual, potential and perceived conflicts and mitigation.
4. Acknowledgement: date due under law; actual date; policy/process/representation/external-right information provided; accessibility/language confirmed.
5. Evidence hold: identify custodians, platforms, auto-delete periods, CCTV/access retention, devices, notes, social media, work records and preservation owner. Preserve proportionately and lawfully; do not conduct overbroad surveillance.
6. Interim measures: risk addressed; party views considered; least prejudicial effective measure; pay/benefits/accommodation maintained; decision-maker/reasons; communication; 30-day review date.
7. Supports: EAP/medical/counselling/sexual-violence/community/culturally safe/union/legal/accommodation contacts offered without requiring a finding.
8. Process route: threshold review, required investigation, possible voluntary resolution, parallel criminal/regulatory/grievance process, privilege decision and statutory reporting.
9. Communications: safe channels, no-contact rules, status-update cadence, media/public-contact control where lawful, and no promise of exact discipline or absolute confidentiality.
10. Case plan: allegations/issues list, investigator/decision-maker, terms of reference, target dates, statutory deadline, review/report recipients and corrective-action owner.

Recipient signature/date: [ ]
Supervisor notification limited to need-to-know: [ ]
Next safety review: [ ]

Schedule E — Investigation terms of reference and mandatory protocol

E1. Appointment and independence

• Case number / appointing authority / governing policy and legislation: [ ]
• Investigator name, qualifications, role-specific legal/investigation training and secure contact: [ ]
• Written conflict declaration and continuing duty to disclose: [ ]
• Parties' input/selection process and any regulator order: [ ]
• Investigator decides facts and policy breach unless law/terms assign otherwise; employer decides discipline/corrective action.
• Legal privilege, if legitimately claimed, must be defined at the outset and not used to conceal a statutory report that must be disclosed.

E2. Allegations and scope

List each allegation separately: who; what; when/where; policy/statutory test; and whether retaliation, systemic failure, violence or protected-ground harassment is included. Scope changes require written reasons and notice sufficient for fairness. The investigator does not decide unrelated performance or credibility issues merely because they arise.

E3. Fair procedure

The investigator will:

1. provide each party a plain-language process explanation, allegations and a meaningful opportunity to participate;
2. arrange disability, trauma, language, cultural, scheduling and technology accommodations without compromising neutrality;
3. permit an appropriate union/other representative or support person, subject to non-interference and confidentiality;
4. interview separately, ask open and testing questions, obtain names/sources, and allow corrections to interview summaries;
5. collect relevant proportionate evidence and maintain an evidence log with source, date, authenticity and access history;
6. give the responding party sufficient particulars and a fair opportunity to answer;
7. put material adverse or contradictory evidence to the affected party before relying on it, while protecting safety and nonessential identity information;
8. assess relevance, reliability, consistency, plausibility, contemporaneous records, motive to misstate and corroboration without relying on myths about trauma, delayed reporting, disability, culture or demeanor;
9. apply the balance of probabilities unless governing law requires otherwise, decide each allegation separately and distinguish “not substantiated” from “false”; and
10. report facts, reasoning and recommendations within the governing deadline or documented enhanced target, with regular status updates.

No participant may secretly record an interview. The investigator may authorize recording with informed agreement, security controls and a retention plan. The employer will not require broad access to personal devices/accounts without lawful necessity and proportionality.

E4. Report structure

1. mandate, independence and legal/policy framework;
2. allegations and applicable tests;
3. procedure, participants, accommodation and limitations;
4. evidence considered and not obtained;
5. undisputed/material facts;
6. credibility and reliability analysis tied to evidence;
7. finding and reasons for each allegation;
8. retaliation, systemic risk and immediate safety findings;
9. corrective/preventive recommendations, owners or priorities where within mandate; and
10. appendices/evidence index, with redaction/version controls.

Target date / statutory final date / update cadence: [ ]
Required report copies and outcome notices: [ ]

Schedule F — Investigation quality and credibility worksheet

Do not use numerical scoring as a substitute for reasoning.

Quality checks:

• Were material contradictions put to the person affected?
• Were messages/records assessed in full context and authenticated sufficiently?
• Were trauma, disability, language, culture and power considered without stereotyping?
• Was demeanor given little or no weight unless specifically reliable and explained?
• Was each conclusion tied to evidence and the correct policy/legal definition at the time?
• Were intent and impact treated according to the applicable test?
• Were management-action exclusions examined for reasonableness, good faith and method?
• Were broader internal conduct standards kept distinct from statutory findings?
• Were exculpatory evidence and investigation limitations addressed?

Schedule G — Outcome notice templates

Adapt to the jurisdiction. Never use this template to disclose less than an express statutory outcome requirement.

G1. Notice to complainant / principal / allegedly affected worker

Private and confidential — Case [ ]
We investigated the report received on [date] concerning [brief neutral description]. The investigation was conducted by [role/name where appropriate] under [policy/law]. You had an opportunity to provide information and respond to material issues.

Result for each allegation: [substantiated / substantiated in part / not substantiated / unable to determine, only if policy/law permits, with the specific result description the jurisdiction requires]. [Concise reasons or findings summary required for a meaningful result notice, without unnecessary personal information.]

Corrective or preventive action taken or to be taken that may be disclosed: [specific measures relevant to the result; do not promise or reveal confidential discipline beyond what law requires]. The employer will monitor completion and retaliation. Report any concern to [channel]. Available supports/accommodations are [ ]. This notice does not restrict external legal rights listed in the policy.

G2. Notice to respondent / alleged harasser

Private and confidential — Case [ ]
Result for each allegation: [ ]. Corrective expectations/actions applicable to you: [ ]. Any discipline is communicated in a separate employment letter where appropriate. Retaliation, contact contrary to interim/final directions, and interference are prohibited. Questions about compliance go to [ ]. This notice does not restrict representation or legal rights.

G3. Closure acknowledgement

G4. Fixed reporting and outcome calendar

Schedule H — Corrective action and effectiveness tracker

Corrective action must address both individual conduct and enabling conditions. Possible indicators include repeat reports, affected-area climate, control use, training comprehension, turnover/absence themes, security events and completion audits. Do not measure success by “zero complaints” alone; under-reporting can produce that number.

Schedule I — Training standard and record

I1. Minimum curriculum

All-person training is workplace-specific and covers:

1. policy commitment, legal/internal definitions and reasonable-management boundary;
2. discriminatory, sexual, gender-based, personal, third-party and virtual harassment examples;
3. violence/domestic-family-violence overlap and emergency assistance;
4. workplace-specific hazards and controls;
5. reporting, alternate/independent channels, anonymous information and evidence preservation;
6. what happens after a report, interim measures, representation, investigation and outcomes;
7. confidentiality limits, lawful support/external reporting and prohibition on reprisal;
8. bystander options that do not require unsafe intervention;
9. accommodation, language, cultural and trauma-informed access; and
10. scenario practice and a documented comprehension check.

Supervisors/recipients receive additional training on duty to act without a formal complaint, emergency triage, domestic violence, conflict screening, intake, no promise of secrecy, neutral interim measures, evidence holds, procedural fairness, outcome communications, corrective action and record/reporting duties. Investigators meet the law-specific qualification rules.

I1A. Mandatory New Brunswick training override

• New Brunswick: use this policy's express training requirements and role coverage; do not substitute the generic curriculum for them.

I2. Record

Schedule J — Policy and program review record

Review trigger / legal deadline: [ ]
Participants and disagreements: [ ]
Approval / communication / retraining dates: [ ]
Next scheduled and event-triggered review rules: [ ]

Schedule K — Case record index and access protocol

Access is not granted merely because a person is a supervisor or executive. Every access/export is need-to-know, logged where practical, securely transmitted and limited to the minimum necessary. A privacy request, grievance, litigation hold, regulator order, police request or legal disclosure is routed to [privacy/legal lead]; no routine deletion occurs while a valid hold applies.

K1. Minimum New Brunswick retention preset

Do not destroy records merely because a listed minimum expires. Apply the authorized disposition schedule, privacy minimization requirements and any litigation, grievance, regulator, workers' compensation or preservation hold.

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