CODE OF CONDUCT
We are committed to holding high ethical standards for our yoga teachers. We believe that it is the responsibility of a teacher to ensure a safe environment in which our students can grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. Students are looking for guidance from teachers with authenticity, experience, and wisdom. Our Code of Conduct was developed to protect our students in this potentially vulnerable relationship with their teachers and trainers and to uphold the highest professional standards.
EQUITY STANDARDS
At Sangha Yoga Collective, we welcome, accept, and support all students regardless of religion, gender, sexual orientation, language, nationality, political, or cultural background.
We emphasize the importance of learning, teaching, and practicing yoga honestly, which means promoting equity, reducing harm, honouring, and leveraging cultural differences, and fostering diversity and inclusion in all areas of yoga while honouring the integrity of Yoga’s cultural and historical roots.
ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY
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.
Harassment is unwelcome verbal or non-verbal conduct, based upon a person’s protected characteristic, that (i) denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward the person because of the characteristic and which affects their employment opportunities or benefits; (ii) has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with their work performance; (iii) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment; or (iv) has the purpose or effect of creating a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.
Harassment includes epithets, slurs, name calling, negative stereotyping, insults, intimidation, ridicule, threatening, intimidating or hostile acts, denigrating jokes, and display in the workplace of written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility or aversion toward an individual or group based on their protected characteristic. Petty slights, annoyances, and isolated minor incidents may not rise to the level of harassment.
SEXUAL ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY
We do not tolerate sexual harassment in our studio. 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.
We prohibit sexual misconduct in our training environment. 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 or trainers shall not invite, respond to, or allow any sexual or romantic conduct with a student during the period of the teacher-student relationship.
This is a zero-tolerance policy. No refunds will be given if the program removes a student from the program for bad conduct. Bad conduct is violation of the Code of Conduct, gossip, harassment, bullying, or any other behaviour that is inappropriate or disruptive to the welfare of the program or to fellow students.
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, or school management (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.
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 POLICY
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 subject to this behaviour to report it to the human resources department or school management. We will do everything possible to ensure that you are not retaliated against by anyone because you have reported misconduct.