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Policies and Procedures
Title: Workplace Anti-Violence and Prevention
Policy
Policy Number 801.0
Category ADMINISTRATION
Division Responsible: Human Resources
PURPOSE
The Administration at Keyano College is committed to building and preserving a safe working
environment for its employees. In pursuit of this goal, the College does not condone and will not
tolerate acts of violence against or by any College employee. Keyano College Administration
will take every reasonable precaution and implement measures to prevent violence and protect
all employees from potentially violent situations. As such, this policy prohibits physical or verbal
threats – with or without the use of weapons – intimidation, or violence in the workplace to
minimize risk of injury or harm resulting from violence to College employees.
If Keyano College personnel are aware of violence outside of the workplace that is likely to
expose an employee to a workplace physical injury, every reasonable precaution will be
implemented to protect the individual.
We are committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment free from violence, threats
of violence, harassment, intimidation and disruptive behaviour for all our employees. Weapons
are strictly prohibited from all College property; violators are subject to discipline and may be
reported directly to the police. Keyano College firmly believes that by working together with our
employees, the risk of workplace violence can be minimized.
POLICY STATEMENT
The Workplace Anti-Violence Policy shall apply to Keyano College employees, management
team and any individual conducting business on behalf of the College at all times.
This Policy Shall:
1. Provide Definitions and General Guidelines;
2. Delineate the Risk Assessment and Investigation Reporting Procedures;
3. Explain the Roles and Responsibilities in Maintaining a Safe & Healthy Work
Environment and Reporting Procedure;
4. Provide information on Anti-Violence training content and instruction;
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5. Detail Special Circumstances; and Assistance rights;
6. Outline Protocol for Fraudulent/Malicious Complaints and Disciplinary Measures.
Definitions
a) The following definition has been sourced from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Violence - is the threatened, attempted, or actual conduct of a person that causes or is likely
to cause physical injury. Examples of workplace violence include but are not limited to:
(1)
The exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that
causes or could cause physical injury to the worker.
(2)
An attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or
could cause immediate physical injury to the worker.
(3)
A statement or behavior that is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to
exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause
physical injury to the worker.
(4)
Possession of a weapon while on Keyano College premises, or while conducting
College business.
PROCEDURES
a) General Guidelines

This policy applies to all those working for the College including front line employees,
contract service providers, managers, officers or directors. The College Administration
will not tolerate violence whether engaged in by fellow employees, managers, officers,
directors, or contract service providers of the organization.

All College employees are personally accountable and responsible for enforcing this
policy and must make every effort to prevent and eliminate violence in the work
environment and to intervene immediately by advising a member of management if they
observe a problem or if a problem is reported to them.

This policy prohibits reprisals against individuals, acting in good faith, who report
incidents of workplace violence or act as witnesses. Management will take all
reasonable and practical measures to prevent reprisals, threats of reprisal, or further
violence. Reprisal is defined as any act of retaliation, either direct or indirect.

If it is determined by the College that any employee has knowingly made false
statements regarding an allegation related to discrimination, harassment or violence,
immediate disciplinary action will be taken.
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b) Risk Assessment

Keyano College will conduct a risk assessment of the work environment to identify any
issues related to potential violence that may impact the operation and will institute
measures to eliminate or where not possible, control any identified risks to employee
safety. This information will be provided to the Joint Health & Safety Committee or
Safety Representative.

The risk assessment may include review of records and reports i.e. security reports,
employee incident reports, staff perception surveys, health and safety inspection reports,
first aid records or other related records. Specific areas that may contribute to risk of
violence may include: contact with public, exchange of money, receiving doors, working
alone or at night etc. Research may also include a review of similar workplaces with
respect to their history of violence.
c) Violence Reporting Procedures
(1) Employees are required to report any violence or potentially violent situations
immediately to Campus Security, Management or Human Resources. Human
Resources is required to document the report of any violence or potentially violent
situations and the report document is to be kept on file in Human Resources


All reports shall be kept confidential.
All reports shall be investigated.
(2) Any employee or individual who threatens, harasses or abuses another employee or any
other individual at or from the workplace shall be subject to:



Disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment;
Immediate termination of service agreements; and/or
The pursuit of legal action.
(3) Violent action, threats and assault are considered a serious criminal offence and
disciplinary measures will be taken by Keyano College, leading up to and including
termination.
d) College Administration shall:
(1) Investigate all reported acts/incidents of violence.
(2) Consult with other parties such as legal counsel, health & safety consultants, the Joint
Health and Safety Committee, employee assistance provider, human rights office or
local police services regarding the incident/act.
(3) Take all reasonable measures to eliminate or mitigate risks identified by the incident.
(4) Document the incident, its investigation, and the corrective action taken.
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e) The Joint Health & Safety Committees/Health and Safety Representative will:
(1) Review the Workplace Violence Hazard Assessment results and provide
recommendations to management to reduce or eliminate the risk of violence.
(2) Review all reports forwarded to the Committee or Representative regarding workplace
violence and other incident reports pertaining to incidents of workplace violence that
result in personal injury or threat of personal injury, property damage, or police
involvement.
(3) Participate in the investigation of critical injuries such as incidents that place life in
jeopardy, result in substantial blood loss, fracture of leg or arm, etc.
(4) Recommend corrective measures for the improvement of the overall health, safety and
wellness of employees.
(5) Respond to employee concerns related to workplace violence and communicate these to
management.
In addition, the Joint Health and Safety Committee, or the Health and Safety
Representative, may participate in the investigation of reported incidents that result in
personal injury or have the potential to result in injury.
Keyano College will retain a copy of any investigation report and submit a copy to the Joint
Health and Safety Committee, or Representative.
Employee/Supervisory Roles in Maintaining a Positive & Safe Work Environment
a) As an employee of Keyano College, you have the following responsibilities to our
workplace:
(1) We trust that all of our employees will help us eliminate the threat of violence from our
workplace.
(2) All employees are responsible for preventing and reporting acts of violence that threaten
or perceive to threaten a safe work environment.
Co-worker's Role
a) If you are a co-worker who has witnessed an action related to violence in the workplace:
(1) Immediately report the incident to Campus Security, Management or Human Resources.
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Manager's and Management's Role
a) Legally, management is responsible for creating and maintaining a safe and healthy
workplace that is free from violence.
b) Managers must be sensitive to the climate in the workplace and address potential problems
before those problems become serious.
c) When an employee has asked his/her manager to deal with an alleged violent situation, the
manager should:
(1) Thoroughly investigate the situation without prejudice.
(2) Work with the employee and document the alleged offensive action(s) and have the
employee sign a complaint.
(3) Contact their superior and/or senior management and provide details of the incident on
behalf of the employee.
Information, Instruction and Workplace Anti-Violence Training Content
a)
In accordance with the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code, all employees shall
receive the following information, instruction and training:
(1) information on what constitutes workplace violence and the means of identifying the
factors that contribute to these behaviours;
(2) the workplace violence prevention policies and procedures that have been developed;
(3) appropriate responses to incidents or acts of workplace violence, including how to obtain
assistance; and,
(4) the employer’s procedures for reporting on risks and incidents of workplace violence and
harassment.
Assistance
Any employee who has been harmed as a result of a violent act or incident in the workplace has
the right to assistance. Keyano College recommends any employee who has been harmed at
the workplace MUST seek consultation with the College nurse and seek consultation from a
health care provider for treatment or referral for post-incident counselling as soon as possible.
Where possible the College will provide assistance to employees through EAP’s locally.
Special Circumstances
Should an employee have a legal court order (e.g. restraining order, or “no-contact” order)
against another individual, the employee is encouraged to notify his or her supervisor, and to
supply a copy of that order to the Human Resources Department. This will likely be required in
instances where the employee strongly feels that the aggressor may attempt to contact that
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employee at the College, in direct violation of the court order. Such information shall be kept
confidential on only shared on a need-to-know basis (ie; Campus Security).
If any visitor to the College workplace is seen with a weapon (or is known to possess one),
makes a verbal threat or assault against an employee or another individual, employee
witnesses are required to immediately contact the police, Campus Security, their immediate
supervisor, and the Human Resources Department.
All records of harassment and violence reports, and subsequent investigations, are considered
confidential and will not be disclosed to anyone except to the extent required by law.
In cases where criminal proceedings are forthcoming, the College will assist police agencies,
attorneys, and courts to the fullest extent.
Fraudulent/Malicious Complaints
This policy must never be used to bring fraudulent or malicious complaints against employees. It
is important to realize that unfounded/frivolous allegations may cause both the accused person
and the company significant damage.
Disciplinary Measures
a)
If it is determined by the College that any employee has been involved in a violent
behaviour or unacceptable conduct related to another employee, immediate disciplinary
action will be taken and will be commensurate with the level of severity. Such disciplinary
action may involve counselling, a formal warning and could result in immediate dismissal
without further notice.
b)
This Anti-Violence Policy must never be used to bring fraudulent or malicious complaints
against employees. It is important to realize that unfounded/frivolous allegations may
cause both the accused person and the College significant damage. If it is determined by
the College that any employee has knowingly made false statements regarding an
allegation related to violence, immediate disciplinary action will be taken. As with any
case of dishonesty, disciplinary action may include immediate dismissal for cause without
further notice.
Confidentiality
The College will do everything it can to protect the privacy of the individuals involved and to
ensure that complainants and respondents are treated fairly and respectfully. The College will
protect this privacy so long as doing so remains consistent with the enforcement of this policy
and adherence to the law.
Neither the name of the person reporting the facts nor the circumstances surrounding them will
be disclosed to anyone whatsoever, unless such disclosure is necessary for an investigation or
disciplinary action. Any disciplinary action will be determined by the College and will be
proportional to the seriousness of the behaviour concerned. Keyano College will also provide
appropriate assistance to any employee who is victim of discrimination or harassment.
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Security Measures
a) Keyano College has instituted these security measures to minimize the risk of violence on
our premises.
(1)
Human Resources shall conduct background investigations to review candidates to
reduce the risk of hiring individuals with a history of violent behavior.
(2)
The College shall be allowed to conduct searches and inspections of any College
property without prior notice given.
(3)
Keyano College maintains a 24/7 x 365 days security force on premises.
(4)
Keyano College maintains electronic door locks and other security measures around
the College including closed circuit surveillance equipment.
Weapons
a) The College maintains a full and total ban on the possession of weapons on Keyano College
premises. This includes weapons either kept or transported in any vehicle on College
premises.
b) Weapons shall be prohibited while conducting College business off-campus.
c) Weapons shall be defined as, but not limited to: Any gun, knife or other item held with intent
to cause bodily harm to any employee.
Enforcement
a) Any College employee who threatens, harasses or abuses another employee, or any other
individual at or from the workplace shall be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including
termination of employment, and the pursuit of legal action.
b) Violent action, threats and harassment are serious criminal offences, and shall be dealt with
appropriately.
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Acknowledgement
I, _______________________________, acknowledge that I have read and understand the
Anti-Violence Policy of Keyano College. Further, I agree to adhere to this Policy and will ensure
that employees working under my direction adhere to these guiding principles.
Name:
Signature:
Date:
Witness:
Impact
1) List of Policies Impacted by this Policy – All policies are impacted by this policy.
2) Replacement – This policy does not replace any preceding policies.
List of Dates
1) Approved – January 25, 2013 by the Board of Governors.