I got assaulted at work: After leaving a work event, a colleague came from behind me and put his hands around my neck (as if to strangle me). He put enough pressure on my neck to cause physical pain which lasted the evening. I had to physically pry his hand off my neck – there was resistance on his end – which is really scary. I was walking in a group of 12 other colleagues when this occurred. There was 1 witness (my boss) that reported the event to HR.
The individual who assaulted me was a colleague in a position of authority (has been working for the company for 20+years, likely in his 50's). That same evening, he grabbed another female colleague (late 20's) by the neck and kissed her on the head (without consent). This event was also reported and had multiple witnesses.
Both events were reported to HR. They conducted their “investigation” and substantiated the misconduct. HR took 2 months to conduct their investigation and it seems like none of the main witnesses were interviewed. HR advised there were remedial actions taken (that were confidential) but that I was to proceed working with this individual: “business as usual” (their words not mine). They could not provide an answer to: What measure are in place to ensure a safe work environment. I told them this was an unacceptable response and that they need to get back to me with some concrete action items. I am in shock that this is the recommendation “of the business”…to keep working with a person that tried to strangle you… their suggestion was to continue to have check-in's, in the hope that I “get over it”.
In addition to this, they provided no employee support or even empathy to myself or my other colleague during the 2 month wait time.
-What is your advise – next steps to take?
-What is the obligation of the employer? (location: Quebec, Canada)
-What are the usual remediation measures put in place for situations like this?
-I've already consulted a criminal lawyer. What would be the benefits of consulting an employment lawyer?
-If I report this incident to the police, will I have to testify in court/ will this drag on for many years?
This entire situation has been causing me a great deal of stress. I'm pretty sure I have some lingering PTSD from it and it is definitely affecting me at work and in my personal life.