Bill 42 and Harassment Prevention for Restaurants

Between 2020 and 2024 in Quebec alone, workplace injuries linked to sexual harassment rose from 24 to 187. That's a 679% increase. And accommodation and food services accounted for one in every ten harassment files at the CNESST.

Restaurants aren't just caught in the crosshairs of tighter harassment laws. They're the reason these laws exist.

As of late 2025, every single Canadian province requires employers to maintain a written workplace harassment prevention policy under OHS legislation. Nova Scotia was the last to fall in line. If you operate a restaurant anywhere in Canada and don't have a policy, you're already offside.

This guide covers what's required province by province, why restaurants face more scrutiny than most industries, and how to build a policy that actually works for a small team.

Why restaurants sit at the top of the risk list

The hospitality sector combines every factor that makes harassment more likely: physical closeness, rigid kitchen hierarchies, late-night shifts, alcohol during service, and customers who sometimes treat staff like they're part of the decor.

The numbers back that up. Between 54% and 81% of women in hospitality report experiencing some form of sexual harassment at work. Women who work for tips are twice as likely to experience it compared to salaried employees. And only 32% of restaurants provide any sexual harassment training at all.

For independent restaurants, there's an added complication. The owner is often the only manager. If a complaint is about the owner's behaviour, or about someone the owner is close to, there's no HR department to handle it. That gap is exactly what the newer laws are designed to close.

What Bill 42 changed in Quebec (and why it matters everywhere)

Quebec's Bill 42, fully in force since September 27, 2024, is the most prescriptive harassment prevention framework in Canada. Even if you don't operate in Quebec, it's worth understanding because other provinces are moving in the same direction.

Before Bill 42, Quebec employers had a vague duty to "take reasonable measures" against harassment. Now the Act respecting labour standards spells out exactly what your prevention policy must contain: seven mandatory elements.

Three changes hit restaurants hardest.

Your obligation covers everyone, not just employees. The law now says harassment can come from "any person," which includes customers, suppliers, delivery drivers, and contractors. If a regular customer harasses your server repeatedly and you do nothing, you're in violation.

Your policy must be part of your OHS prevention program. It's no longer a standalone document you can file away. It sits alongside your accident prevention plan.

Social events are explicitly covered. Team dinners, after-shift drinks, holiday parties. Bill 42 specifically requires your policy to include recommendations for work-related social activities. The informal setting doesn't suspend the rules.

The seven elements your policy needs (Quebec)

Under the amended Art. 81.19 of the Act respecting labour standards, a Quebec harassment prevention policy must contain all of the following:

#	Required Element	What it means for a restaurant
1	Methods to identify, control, and eliminate harassment risks	How you spot problems before they escalate. Could be anonymous surveys, regular check-ins, or an open-door approach. Write it down.
2	Training and information programs	Initial training at hire, annual refresher. The CNESST offers free resources.
3	Recommendations for work-related social activities	Your team needs to know the rules apply at the staff party too.
4	Complaint and reporting procedures	Who receives complaints, how they're filed, what follow-up looks like. If your team doesn't know who to talk to, your policy is decoration.
5	Protection against reprisals	Retaliation against someone who reports harassment is now an explicitly prohibited practice. That includes schedule changes, demotion, or isolation.
6	Investigation process	Steps, timelines, who investigates. If you're the sole owner and the complaint involves you, you need an external mechanism. Common in independent restaurants.
7	Confidentiality and document retention	All complaint-related documents must be kept for at least two years. Confidentiality isn't optional.

How other provinces compare

Every province now mandates a harassment policy, but specifics vary. Here's where the major restaurant markets stand as of 2025.

Province	Key legislation	Written policy required?	Training required?	Penalties for non-compliance
Quebec	Act respecting labour standards (Bill 42)	Yes, with 7 prescribed elements	Yes, at hire + annually	$600-$6,000 first offence; up to $12,000 repeat
Ontario	Occupational Health and Safety Act (Bill 168/132)	Yes (policy + program); must be posted if 5+ employees	Yes	Up to $100,000 per individual; virtual harassment now covered
British Columbia	Workers Compensation Act + WorkSafeBC policies	Yes, policy statement required	Yes, supervisors + workers	Administrative penalties based on payroll; $7.6M total across all OHS categories in 2024
Alberta	OHS Code (amended Dec 2024)	Yes, consolidated prevention plan by March 31, 2025	Yes	Up to $500,000 first offence; up to $1M second
Saskatchewan	Saskatchewan Employment Act	Yes, written policy with prescribed elements	Yes	Administrative penalties
Manitoba	Workplace Safety and Health Act	Yes, must be posted conspicuously	Yes	Administrative penalties

The trend is clear. Provinces aren't loosening requirements. They're tightening them. Alberta consolidated its violence and harassment plans in 2025. Ontario expanded its definition to cover virtual harassment. Quebec prescribed seven specific elements. Nova Scotia added its first mandatory policy requirement. The floor keeps rising.

The customer problem

Most harassment training focuses on co-workers and managers. In restaurants, the bigger exposure is often customers.

A diner who makes sexual comments to a server. A regular who berates the host. A bar patron who won't take no for an answer. These are daily realities in food service, and under newer legislation, especially Quebec's, the employer's duty to act is the same whether the harassment comes from a cook or a customer.

That creates a real tension for independent operators. Confronting or banning a paying customer feels like a business risk. But not doing so is now a legal one, and a retention one. Your best staff won't stay if they feel unprotected.

The practical solution: give your team clear language and a clear process. "I need to let you know that kind of comment isn't acceptable here" is a script, not a confrontation. And back them up when they use it.

What it costs to ignore this

The financial exposure varies by province, but the pattern is consistent.

Quebec's fines for missing a harassment policy start at $600 and climb to $12,000 for repeat offences. Ontario can fine individuals up to $100,000. Alberta goes up to $500,000 for a first conviction under its OHS Act.

But the fines are the smaller number. An employee who files a successful harassment complaint can receive damages, back pay, and punitive awards. In Quebec, Bill 42 expanded the Tribunal administratif du travail's authority to award punitive damages even when the complainant also has a workplace injury claim. Legal costs alone can run five figures.

Then there's turnover. The cost of losing one restaurant employee runs between $3,000 and $6,000 when you factor in recruiting, training, and lost productivity. A restaurant that tolerates harassment doesn't just face legal risk. It bleeds its best people.

How to build a compliant policy in an afternoon

You don't need a lawyer for this. You need a template, two hours, and a conversation with your team.

Step	Action	Time
1	Download your province's template. Quebec: CNESST model policy. Ontario: check the Ministry of Labour resources. BC: see WorkSafeBC's policy guidance. Alberta: refer to the OHS Code Part 27 guidance.	10 minutes
2	Adapt the template to your restaurant. Insert your business name, number of employees, designated complaint contact.	1-2 hours
3	Name your complaint contact. If you're the sole manager, identify an external option: a trusted industry peer, a consultant, or your provincial OHS authority's complaint line.	15 minutes
4	Schedule a team meeting. Walk through the policy. Explain what behaviour is covered, how to report it, and what happens next.	30 minutes
5	Make the policy accessible. Post it in the break room, include it in your onboarding package, reference it in your employee handbook if you have one.	Ongoing
6	Set an annual reminder. Review the policy once a year. Update contact info, check for legislative changes, hold a refresher with your team.	30 minutes per year

For a five-person restaurant, the whole process takes an afternoon. The template does the heavy lifting. Your job is to make it real: known to your team, accessible, and enforced.

The amnesty clause change (Quebec)

One Bill 42 change that most operators missed: the amnesty clause modification. Previously, if an employee's disciplinary record was wiped clean after a set period, you couldn't reference past incidents. Now, for cases involving physical or psychological violence (including sexual harassment), the disciplinary history stays accessible even after amnesty.

If you've previously disciplined someone for inappropriate behaviour, that record is still relevant if the behaviour repeats. It's a tool for employers who take this seriously.

A policy is the floor, not the ceiling

Having a written policy keeps you compliant. It doesn't guarantee a healthy workplace. What does: a culture where your team feels safe speaking up, where a customer crossing a line gets the same response as a colleague crossing one, and where you, as the owner, model the standard.

Restaurants have normalized behaviours for decades that have no place at work. The pressure in a kitchen during a rush. Comments that get brushed off as jokes. Customers who treat servers as extensions of the table setting. The legislation doesn't fix culture overnight. But it gives you a framework, clear obligations, and no excuse not to act.

You don't need an HR department. You need a policy, an honest conversation with your team, and the willingness to follow through.

Sources: CNESST, Blakes LLP, McMillan LLP, Rubin Thomlinson, Foodservice and Hospitality.

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