Independent investigations into bullying, harassment, discrimination and misconduct for small organizations and nonprofits in Alberta, including complaints where disability, mental health or neurodiversity is part of the picture.
Retained by employers, boards and legal counsel when there is no HR team, or no one independent enough, to handle a complaint.
Under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act, harassment includes a single incident as well as repeated conduct. Part 27 of the OHS Code requires employers to have a violence and harassment prevention plan that sets out how complaints are reported and investigated.
Employers must investigate harassment incidents and prepare an investigation report describing the circumstances and any corrective action taken to prevent a recurrence. The report is kept for at least two years. Government of Alberta: workplace violence and harassment.
Complaints that engage a protected ground, including physical or mental disability, also fall under the Alberta Human Rights Act.
Most complaints in Alberta do not need one. These are the situations where an internal process is compromised before it starts.
An owner, executive director or senior manager. When the person named sits above everyone who could investigate, the complaint goes to the board or to an outsider.
In a small organization, HR is often one person who works closely with both parties, or there is no HR at all.
A party is on leave, is neurodivergent, or links the conduct to a condition. The process has to be adjusted and the adjustments documented.
A regulator, a human rights tribunal, an arbitrator or a court may read the file. The process needs to hold up to that reader.
Where it is not yet clear a full investigation is needed, the Preliminary Review and Assessment sets out the allegations, assesses them against the regulatory frameworks in Alberta, and recommends whether to proceed. It is a fixed fee of $2,950 and involves no interviews.
Where the decision has already been made, a full investigation runs from terms of reference to a written report. How an investigation runs, and what it costs →
Interviews are held by secure video. In-person work can be arranged where a matter needs it, with travel costs agreed in writing beforehand.
Yes. Counsel can retain me directly so the investigation is conducted under privilege, with the report delivered to counsel. More for counsel.
Investigations are billed at $325 per hour against a written estimate, with a reduced rate for registered non-profits and charities. The Preliminary Review and Assessment is a fixed fee of $2,950.