GYS Policies

We believe our policies and intentions follow a spirit of fairness, acceptance and awareness.
If you have any questions, please let us know. GYS is a safe space for all.

Anti-Harassment

Harassment Against Members Of Protected Class

We do not permit managers, employees, teachers, independent contractors, students, or others in the workplace to harass any other person because of age, gender (including pregnancy), race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status, genetic information, or any other basis proscribed by law.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

We do not tolerate sexual harassment in our workplace. Sexual harassment refers to any unwelcome sexual attention, sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature when the conduct harms the person’s employment or working environment.

Sexual Misconduct

We prohibit sexual misconduct in our workplace. Sexual misconduct is any unsolicited and unwelcome sexual advance including requests for sexual favours, sexual touching, and verbal, visual, or physical conduct that creates a sexually hostile environment in a yoga class or studio. Teachers may not use sexually suggestive language (including sexual jokes and degrading comments), gestures, movements, or images in their classes, in their studios, on their websites, or in their social media platform. Teachers should avoid making comments on their students’ appearance that could be perceived as sexually oriented or suggesting an attraction. Teachers should avoid making comments that idealize or assume a specific body type or image. If a student tells a teacher that any behavior is unwelcome and the teacher repeats the behaviour, it may be considered harassment.

Romantic Relationship Between Teachers and Students

Teachers shall not invite, respond to, or allow any sexual or romantic conduct with a student during the period of the teacher-student relationship.

Grievance

Reporting of Policy Violations

We encourage anyone who has been the subject of sexual misconduct or any other action that violates our policies and Code of Conduct to report the incident to our Ethics Committee, Human Resources department, school management or alternate Lead Trainer (henceforth referred to as the “reviewing body”). The report should contain the following information:

Your full name;
Your email and phone number;
The name of the person who the grievance is against;
A description of the alleged policy violation;
The date and location of the policy violation;
Names and contact information of any witnesses with first-hand knowledge of the situation; and,
Any other credible evidence that is available to support the grievance.

In the interest of fairness and privacy, all reports must be made by the person who has personally experienced the misconduct. We will not investigate a matter based upon a third-party report of misconduct. All reports must be made in good faith based on information the person reporting the incident reasonably believes to be accurate. We may request additional information from the person reporting the incident throughout the course of review of the report. We will take appropriate action to ensure compliance with our policies. The reviewing body will impose any sanctions that it feels are fair, just, and reasonable under all circumstances. We will not allow anyone to retaliate against any person for making a report in good faith or providing information in connection with an investigation into an alleged violation. Any information provided during a grievance report review will be treated on a confidential basis. Similarly, any actions that the taken in response to the report will also be confidential

Anti-Retaliation

We will not retaliate against any person for having reported or threatened to report harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or violations of our Code of Conduct or polices, or for participating in an investigation into any of the foregoing. Anyone who retaliates against a person will be subjected to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. We encourage any person — including employees, non-employees, and students — who believe they have been subject to retaliation to inform a supervisor or manager. We have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. We encourage anyone who has been anyone who is subject to this behaviour to report it to the human resources department, school management or alternate Lead Trainer. We will do everything possible to ensure that you are not retaliated against by anyone because you have reported misconduct.