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In June, 2004, the right to work in an environment free from psychological harassment becomes a minimum standard of employment in Quebec.

Psychological harassment defined

Psychological harassment is defined as:

"any vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or gestures, that affects an employee's dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work environment for the employee.

"A single serious incidence of such behaviour that has a lasting harmful effect on an employee may also constitute psychological harassment."

According to this definition, the key elements that constitute psychological harassment are:

• Vexatious behaviour: The act refers to a conduct that becomes humiliating or abusive for the victim of harassment. Maliciousness or intent to harm are not prerequisites and will not constitute determining factors.
• Repetition: When the unwanted comments, gestures or actions are repeated over time and viewed cumulatively rather than in isolation, the conduct can become vexatious and constitute harassment.
• Hostility or unwanted conduct: Either the conduct may be reasonably characterized as hostile or aggressive towards the employee, or the employee will need to show he has expressed some form of disagreement with the conduct. The refusal or disagreement need not be stated expressly but could be inferred from the circumstances.
• Effect on an employee's dignity or psychological or physical integrity: As in any other form of harassment, psychological harassment diminishes an individual's self-esteem or integrity.
• Harmful work environment for the employee: This can refer to an environment where the employee is isolated or excluded, subject to intimidation, excessive control, or excessive stress, etc. A number of situations could be characterized as constituting a harmful work environment.
• An isolated incident : It may also constitute harassment if it is sufficiently serious and if there are lasting harmful effects.

As such, this definition of psychological harassment is wide enough to encompass all types of undesired conduct in the workplace, including abusive exercises of authority. It is also sufficiently wide to include other forms of prohibited harassment (sexual, racial, religious, political, etc.).

The standard of review for the alleged conduct will be that of a "reasonable, objective and well-informed person" placed in similar circumstances to that raised by the complainant.

Harassment-free work environment

• Every employee has a right to a work environment free from psychological harassment.
• Employers must take reasonable action to prevent psychological harassment and, whenever they become aware of such behaviour, to put a stop to it.

The right to a harassment-free work environment not only means an employee should not be subjected to harassment from superiors and managers, but he is entitled to work without harassment from his colleagues, clients or third parties he deals with in the course of his employment.