Sexual harassment

Unwelcome conduct or comments at work linked to sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, including sexual advances and jokes.

Also called: workplace sexual harassment, sexual harassment at work

What sexual harassment means

Sexual harassment at work is unwelcome conduct, comment or contact that is sexual in nature, or that targets someone because of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. It includes sexual jokes and remarks, comments about someone's body, unwanted touching, sending sexual images, and pressure for dates or sex.

It does not need to be meant as harassment to count. What matters is whether the person doing it knew, or should reasonably have known, that it was unwelcome. A worker does not have to object out loud for conduct to be unwelcome; many people stay quiet because they fear losing shifts or their job.

For you as an employer, sexual harassment is both a safety issue and a human rights issue. Your provincial safety law expects you to prevent it and deal with complaints, and a worker can also bring it to a human rights body.

How it works

Most provincial harassment rules treat sexual harassment as a named part of workplace harassment. That means your general harassment policy has to cover it, and in some provinces it must say so in a separate section. Ontario's safety law has a specific definition of workplace sexual harassment, and Quebec requires every employer's harassment policy to include a section on behaviour of a sexual nature.

Sexual harassment is often a pattern of comments or conduct, but one incident can be enough when it is serious. A boss who makes a sexual proposition to a worker and hints that shifts or a raise depend on the answer is a clear example. Power matters: when the person harassing can affect the worker's job, the harm is greater and the worker is less likely to report.

When you receive a complaint, take it seriously from the start. Separate the people involved if needed, without punishing the person who complained (for example, do not cut their hours or move them to a worse shift). Have someone neutral look into it, keep details as private as you can, and tell both people the outcome. If the harasser is a customer, client or supplier, your duty to protect the worker still applies.

Small businesses often slip up in the same few ways: tolerating crude jokes as part of the culture, assuming that because nobody complained there is no problem, and letting the owner or a senior person investigate a complaint about themselves. If the person accused is you or a co-owner, bring in an outside investigator.

Sexual harassment by province

Every province protects workers from sexual harassment, but only some spell out sexual harassment separately in their safety rules.

Where the work is done	The rule
Ontario	The OHSA defines workplace sexual harassment as a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, known or ought to be known to be unwelcome. It is part of the harassment your policy and program must cover.
Quebec	Psychological harassment under the Act respecting labour standards includes conduct of a sexual nature. Your prevention and complaint policy must include a section on sexual behaviour. A complaint to CNESST must be filed within 2 years of the last incident.
Nova Scotia	The harassment rules in force since 1 September 2025 expressly include sexual conduct. Your written policy must cover reporting, investigation, confidentiality and no reprisal for good-faith complaints.

Other provinces cover sexual harassment through their general harassment and human rights rules; we did not confirm the exact wording for this page.

Example: A regular customer at a café

Leah runs a café in Kingston, Ontario, with 7 staff. A barista tells her that a regular customer keeps commenting on her body and asked for her number twice after she said no. The barista has started asking not to work mornings, when he usually comes in.

Leah's policy covers harassment by customers. She tells the barista she did the right thing by reporting, makes a note of what happened and when, and speaks to the customer: the comments stop, or he will not be served. She does not move the barista off mornings unless the barista asks to be moved. Leah writes to the barista to say what action she took, as Ontario requires for harassment complaints, and reminds the team how to report anything similar.

Hollis drafts the letter

Hollis can draft the follow-up letters, such as a warning to the person found responsible, for you to review and approve before anything is sent.

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Questions about sexual harassment

Can a single comment be sexual harassment?

Yes, if it is serious enough. A sexual proposition from someone who can affect the worker's job is a common example of one incident that can count.

Am I responsible if a customer harasses my employee?

Generally yes. Provincial harassment rules focus on protecting the worker, so you need to act when the harasser is a customer, client or supplier, not only a co-worker.

Do I need a separate sexual harassment policy?

Usually one harassment policy is enough if it clearly covers sexual harassment. In Quebec the policy must include a specific section on sexual behaviour.

Can two employees date?

Consensual relationships are not harassment. Problems start if one person keeps pursuing after a no, or a manager dates someone they supervise; many employers ask managers to disclose such relationships.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.