CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sarah C Crossley, Laura J Freitag and Naomi Santesteban, Filion Wakely Thorup Angeletti LLP
Taken together, these developments highlight the need for employers to approach off-duty misconduct thoughtfully and contextually. The approach should be grounded in established legal principles, attentive to human rights and safety obligations, and supported by clear policies that provide employees with mean - ingful guidance about expectations and risks associ - While the term “mobbing” has been used relatively infrequently in the jurisprudence, employers have been increasingly receiving and investigating com - plaints involving behaviour resembling group bully - ing or mobbing in the workplace. Mobbing generally refers to a systematic and coordinated form of psy - chological harassment in the workplace engaged by a group of co-workers against a single person. It may also be referred to as “group bullying”. ated with off-duty conduct. Mobbing and group bullying Mobbing can involve various overt and covert bul - lying behaviours such as deliberate exclusion, rude - ness, false accusations, humiliation, trumped-up allegations, spreading rumours, or other persistent forms of harassment against an individual. In other words, colleagues “ganging up” against an employee in an effort to undermine them and their work. Where substantiated, mobbing may result in the creation of a poisoned or toxic work environment for that indi - vidual. See, for example, Canadian National Railway and USW, Local 2004 (Hrycyk), Re, 2019 CarswellNat 523 where three male employees repeatedly threat - ened and harassed a female employee and Toronto Metropolitan University v Toronto Metropolitan Fac‑ ulty Association , 2023 CanLII 22957 where the union asserted that the employer’s harassment policy was inadequate because it failed to address the concept of academic mobbing. Employees who are members of a protected or mar - ginalised group(s) may be particularly susceptible to mobbing. However, even where mobbing does not appear to engage a protected ground, employers are still responsible for recognising and addressing mob - bing or group bullying in the workplace. There is an increasing recognition of the consequenc - es that mobbing, group bullying and other forms of
workplace mistreatment have on workers, including through worsened mental health, diminished per - formance and productivity, and negative attitudes towards the workplace. Findings of mobbing or bully - ing at work could also reveal broader, systemic issues in the workplace. In such circumstances, investigators are often asked to identify risks or issues and provide actionable recommendations for workplace improve - ment. In the article “Workplace Mistreatment: A Systematic Review of Interventions and Future Research Agenda”, accepted on 16 June 2025, 40 workplace intervention studies were reviewed and five areas that should be considered when designing and implementing work - place interventions were identified, as follows: • focusing on organisational culture to foster inclu - sive work environments that promote respect and discourage mistreatment; • demonstrated leadership commitment and support through active participation; • employee involvement at all stages, including in the development and implementation of the workplace intervention; • ongoing commitment to addressing the mistreat - ment through continued monitoring and reinforce - ment tools; and • considering structural characteristics, such as the format, duration, and mode of delivery. The above areas are important considerations for investigators in providing recommendations for employers and determining which workplace interven - tions are most likely to address the issues and create a positive change in the workplace. Where allegations of group bullying or mobbing are substantiated, the end of an investigation often marks the beginning of a separate and equally important obligation: workplace restoration. Mobbing is fre - quently indicative of broader cultural, structural, or operational issues, and a purely discipline-focused response may do little to repair fractured working relationships, restore trust, or prevent recurrence. A comprehensive post-investigation approach may therefore be required, including targeted coaching or training, restorative processes, or broader organi -
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