Harassment complaints at House of Commons rise more than 60% year over year: report

The number of allegations of workplace violence and harassment in the House of Commons almost doubled year over year and is now more than six times higher than it was two years ago, according to a newly published parliamentary report.

In 2022-23 there were 13 complaints made, eight of which were made against someone who does not work for the House of Commons, such as an outside consultant. 

Of the remaining five cases included in the report, four were made against an employee or colleague of a Member of Parliament, while one complaint was made against an MP. 

The report does not detail which allegations were made against which people. But it does say that of the 13 complaints four were for sexual harassment, three for harassment, two for violence, including psychological violence, and one for discrimination. 

There were also three complaints that involved more than one of the above offences. 

In January 2021 the House of Commons implemented a new workplace harassment and violence prevention policy strengthening reporting requirements, and mandating MPs and staff take part in training sessions on workplace conduct. 

The training covers several forms of harassment and violence prevention and also covers the abuse of power by MPs.

The report said that the increase in the number of cases in the most recent year reflects a "heightened awareness" of the responsibilities people working on Parliament Hill have to report incidents that have developed since the implementation of the new policy.

Previous years

The report said that one of the complaints remains open, two were not accepted because they did not meet the criteria. The remaining 10 were resolved through negotiation, or other means that are not specified. 

In 2021-22 there were eight complaints, five against MPs, two against staff and one against a person whose workplace was not identified. The new policy was only in place for part of this time. 

IN 2020-21, the year before the new House of Commons policy was implemented there were just two complaints made by employees of the House of Commons.