Our Bill 168 Services

David Hyde & Associates specializes in helping employers of all types and sizes to attain and maintain compliance with Bill 168. We can develop new programs, provide Workplace Violence Risk Assessments, and/or perform Audit 'Health Checks' of existing programs. Our scalable approach is based on a proven methodology and aligns with Provincial Government and industry best practice standards.

Our Methodology

The assessment tools and compliance methods we deploy are based on standards and guidelines endorsed by Ontario's Ministry of Labour, the Occupational Health & Safety Council of Ontario ("OHSCO") and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety ("CCOHS"). We tailor our specific approach to each clients' unique requirements.

Some of our primary service options include:

• Full Program Development - We commonly work with clients to develop a complete end-to-end Bill 168 compliance solution. This typically involves stakeholder consultation, conducting an employee survey, assessing the workplace(s), reviewing procedures and proposing physical and procedural risk controls to lower the potential for violence.
• Workplace Violence Risk Assessment - We frequently perform the risk assessment required under Bill 168 to provide an appropriate and defensible baseline for clients to use to refine or develop their own workplace violence policy and program.
• ´State of Health Check´ - Using our customized Compliance Checklist we benchmark the client's existing workplace violence and harassment program against the specific requirements of Bill 168. The confidential 'Health Check' report we issue can be used to bring the program up to full legal compliance.

What the Experts Say

The Conference Board of Canada recently gathered a panel of workplace violence experts and conducted a detailed review of the research to arrive at six key actions that employers should take to reduce the risk of workplace violence and harassment:

1. Conduct an initial risk assessment and re-assess the risks periodically
2. Raise awareness of early warning signs and take action to curb escalation towards violence
3. Offer and promote the use of employee assistance service options
4. Set clear behavioural expectations and consequences for individual conduct and train workers on their rights and responsibilities
5. Develop and maintain prevention and incident response plans
6. Provide effective crisis leadership and response

                                        Conference Board of Canada (2010) 'Managing the Risks of Workplace Violence and Harassment'