Insights
Alberta's Violence and Harassment Prevention Plan
Since March 31, 2025, Alberta employers have needed a single violence and harassment prevention plan under Section 390 of the OHS Code, replacing the older structure of separate policies. Every employer in the province is covered, regardless of size - and OHS has already issued five- and six-figure penalties for not having one.
Published 5 Sep 2026 · The On-Track Team
7 min readKey Takeaways
- Ministerial Order 2024-12 repealed the old separate violence and harassment sections and replaced them with one plan under Section 390, effective March 31, 2025.
- The requirement applies to every Alberta employer - there is no minimum worker count.
- The plan must cover hazard elimination/control, informing workers of known threats, reporting, investigation, and confidentiality with defined exceptions.
- Section 390.7 requires a review at least every three years, or sooner after an incident, a worksite change, or a JHSC request.
- OHS has already issued real penalties under Section 390(1), including a $60,000 fine in April 2025.
1. What actually changed
Ministerial Order 2024-12, issued December 4, 2024, repealed the old sections 390, 390.1, 390.2, and 390.4 through 390.6 of the OHS Code - which had let employers keep separate violence-prevention and harassment-prevention documents - and replaced them with a single new Section 390: “Violence and harassment prevention plan.” A transition window allowed compliance with either the old or new structure between December 4, 2024 and March 31, 2025. Since March 31, 2025, only a plan meeting the current Section 390 requirements is compliant.
The exact citation
2. What the plan must contain
Section 390 sets out five things a compliant plan has to address:
- Measures to eliminate the hazard of violence and harassment or, where that is not reasonably practicable, to control it
- Procedures to inform workers of the nature and extent of the hazard, including any specific or general threats the employer is aware of
- A procedure for workers to report incidents of violence or harassment
- A procedure to investigate reported complaints and incidents
- Confidentiality protections for everyone involved, subject to defined exceptions
One plan, not two. A company still holding onto a separate 2022-era violence policy and harassment policy - even good ones - has not met the current requirement unless they have actually been reconciled into a single document that covers all five elements.
This plan is a legal minimum, not a ceiling. Companies going further on workplace culture and psychological safety often look at CSA Z1003, Canada's voluntary standard for psychological health and safety - a separate, complementary piece of work, not a substitute for the mandatory plan above.
3. Who it applies to, and the review clock
Every employer in Alberta - the Code sets no minimum worker count. Retail fuelling outlets and convenience stores carry additional requirements under sections 392 through 392.6, covering personal emergency transmitters and prepayment for fuel.
Under Section 390.7, the plan is not a write-it-once document. It must be reviewed at minimum once every three years, and sooner whenever an incident indicates the plan needs updating, the work or worksite changes in a way that could affect the risk, or the joint health and safety committee or a health and safety representative asks for a review.
4. What non-compliance actually costs
This is not a rule that sits quietly. Alberta's public administrative penalty record shows real, named enforcement citing Section 390(1) - failure to develop and implement a violence and harassment prevention plan - in the months right after the deadline: a $60,000 penalty against 682175 Alberta Ltd. on April 2, 2025, a $10,000 penalty against Jimil Inc. on March 19, 2025, and a $2,000 penalty against Kinjo #7 Ltd. on June 23, 2025.
Our Services
Is your plan actually one document, and does it cover all five elements?
Our custom safety manuals build the violence and harassment prevention plan around your actual operation - not a generic template stitched from an old policy pair. We also set the three-year review date so it never quietly lapses.
See custom safety manual options5. Frequently asked
Does this apply to my company if we only have a few employees?
Yes. Section 390 of the OHS Code applies to every employer in Alberta - there is no worker-count threshold. A five-person office and a five-hundred-person job site carry the same legal requirement to have a violence and harassment prevention plan in place.
What exactly has to be in the plan?
The plan must include measures to eliminate or, where that is not reasonably practicable, control violence and harassment hazards; procedures to inform workers of the nature and extent of those hazards, including specific or general threats the employer is aware of; a reporting procedure for incidents; an investigation procedure for complaints and incidents; and confidentiality protections for everyone involved, with defined exceptions.
We already had separate violence and harassment policies. Do we need to redo them?
Very likely, yes. The old structure under sections 390, 390.1, 390.2, and 390.4 through 390.6 - which allowed separate violence and harassment documents - was repealed. A transition window let employers use either the old or new structure between December 4, 2024 and March 31, 2025; since then, only a plan meeting the current Section 390 requirements is compliant. Two policies that were never reconciled into one plan is exactly the kind of gap an auditor or an OHS officer will flag.
How often does the plan need to be reviewed?
At minimum once every three years, under Section 390.7. It must also be reviewed sooner if an incident indicates the plan needs updating, if a change to the work or the worksite could affect the risk of violence or harassment, or if the joint health and safety committee or a health and safety representative requests a review.
What actually happens if an employer doesn't have a compliant plan?
Alberta OHS issues administrative penalties for exactly this, and they are public record. In the months after the March 2025 deadline, penalties citing Section 390(1) - failing to develop and implement a violence and harassment prevention plan - included a $60,000 penalty against 682175 Alberta Ltd. in April 2025, a $10,000 penalty against Jimil Inc. in March 2025, and a $2,000 penalty against Kinjo #7 Ltd. in June 2025. This is not a paperwork formality being enforced lightly.