Ubisoft allegations and sexual harassment in the gaming industry

What employers and employees need to know

Between an already explosive growth over the past two decades and a recent sudden focus on home-based activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the gaming sector has blossomed into an economic juggernaut of an industry.

This growth has been accompanied by the need to re-evaluate norms and practices that have been taken for granted in the male-dominated work culture. The most recent example of this is the staffing changes at Ubisoft.

In Canada, the president of Ubisoft is stepping down, and the vice-president of editorial and a further unnamed employee both being terminated; and in the company’s Paris office, the global chief creative officer and global human head of resources resignation.

These corporate changes are just the most recent example of the #MeToo movement shifting from where it originated in the film industry to other sectors where sexism and other discriminatory practices are also often overlooked and under-reported.

RELATED CONTENT
• Air Canada Facing Harassment and Discrimination Complaints
• Black Forest Inn servers fired due to age
• Ottawa Councillor Accused of Sexual Harassment

The #MeToo movement, while far from addressing and solving all issues, has provided a venue for employees to be able to talk about the harms they have experienced in a way previously unavailable to them.

Having an avenue to air grievances and be able to discuss the topic is an important first step, but what does this mean in terms of employment law and practical steps?

Employee Perspective

Ideally, you can address issues like these by contacting your Human Resources department to see whether the matter can be resolved.

Unfortunately, this is not always helpful — where there is an unwillingness for HR to adequately address an issue, employees should be aware of other avenues that can be taken.

Generally speaking, sexism would fall under the purview of the applicable Human Rights legislation in your province.

Employees have a right to have a human rights tribunal to review the actions of the company and assess whether they violated an employee’s human rights.

It is important to note that this does not necessarily require you to quit prior to starting a complaint in this avenue.

In fact, human rights legislation generally provides for strict protections to the employee from retaliatory actions by their employer.

WATCH NOW
Employment Law Show Human Rights Violations in the Workplace
Employment Law Show How to Handle Workplace Harassment

Where a tribunal finds that the company’s actions violated your human rights, remedies can include elements like monetary compensation for the employee or an order that the employer take steps to correct the situation (whether specifically with regards to your situation, or by implementing practices like training or changes to the workplace to address the issue on a wider scale).

Where an employer’s actions reach a level that essentially gives you no choice but to quit, the best option may be to bring a claim to Court stating that the employer constructively dismissed them.

Quitting generally removes all entitlements to severance, but where a court finds that the employee quit because they were constructively dismissed, those entitlements can remain intact.

Some further protections for an employee in these circumstances can also be laid out in the applicable provincial employment standards legislation or workers’ safety legislation, which can each provide their own venue to pursuing a discriminatory claim.

Depending on the province, and the specific facts of the employee’s situation, one or more of these avenues can be the best way to proceed.

Talking to an employment lawyer in B.C., Alberta or Ontario is an excellent first step to evaluate which of these solutions fit your particular circumstance.

Employer’s Perspective

It is important to review the practices that occur inside your organization. This includes ensuring that policies provide appropriate guidance to your employees and that these policies are being effectively enforced.

Sexism and other discriminatory conduct is not always overt but can cause harm to victims nonetheless. They may include things like:

• Communications (verbal or written) either to or about employees;
• Actions towards employees; and
• Management practices that favour some employees over others.

Even where problematic actions are taken by co-workers of an employee and not their superiors, allowing such practices to continue may amount to condoning them, and can make your organization liable for those practices.

Lastly, it is important to ensure that your human resources department is adequately looking at protecting the organization, and not simply protecting the parties responsible for the issues.