The employee of an outside contractor comes into your workplace to do a job. Who is responsible for assuring they are safe? It is a dual role. Both your company (the host employer) and the contractor's own employer share the responsibility for the employee's safety.
The division of responsibility between the host and the contractor can get murky, but this rule of thumb can help clarify the issue: The contractor is always responsible for making sure that its employees know how to do their job safely. The host employer is always responsible for informing the contractor of any hazardous conditions that are specific to the host's workplace. This exchange should include information such as hazardous chemicals that are present in specific work spaces and lockout/tagout requirements.
There are also situations where the host's requirements are specifically defined in the regulations. These include Process Safety Management (29CFR1910.119), Hazardous Waste Operations (29CFR1910.120), Confined Spaces (19CFR1910.146), Lockout/Tagout (29CFR.147), and Hazard Communications (29CFR1910.1200).
In all situations where there is a contractor working at your facility, it is essential that the host employer and the contractor's employee discuss and understand the hazards associated with working in the facility. If you often have the same contractor's employees working at your site, consider providing the contractor with a copy of your health and safety plan so they can come to the facility with a basic understanding of the hazards.
Before any work begins, plan to conduct a walk through with the contractor's employee when they arrive at your facility to familiarize them with the locations of any concerns.
If there are differences in the facility's and the contractor's health and safety plans, discuss the differences and decide how they will be followed before you allow work to proceed.
The bottom line is that the Department of Labour will likely hold the host employer responsible for any accidents that occur on their work site. Demonstrating (through documentation) that you had the discussion with the contractor will go a long way to defend your facility against the implications associated with any accidents.
Make sure all contractors working on-site have WSIB insurance. Otherwise you could be liable for all costs of the accident.
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