If the parties are unable to reach a voluntary resolution of the complaint and the respondent believes they have made a settlement offer that effectively remedies the complaint but the complainant rejects it, the respondent can ask the Executive Director to assess the offer for reasonableness.
If the offer is reasonable, the Commission will terminate the complaint proceedings. This means the complainant will not be heard by an adjudicator, or if the offer is made at an earlier stage in the process, the complaint will not be investigated.
The purpose of reviewing the offer is to avoid the unnecessary time, effort and expense of a hearing process when the complaint can be reasonable remedied without the need for a public adjudication hearing.
The Executive Director reviews the offer and considers whether or not the offer approximates what an adjudicator would order under section 43(2) of The Human Rights Code if the allegation of discrimination in the complaint was proven to be true.
The members of the Human Rights Adjudication Panel also have the authority to review respondent settlement offers in this way. Their decisions are published can be found on our website here.
A member of the Human Rights Adjudication Panel can also award the remedies set out in section 43(2) of The Human Rights Code. The Commission does not order remedies.
For more information see our Guide to the Reasonable Offer Process and Guide to Remedies.
