HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM

Click on any of the following links for detailed information.

· HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM

Ø Plan contents

· WORKPLACE INSPECTIONS

· JOINT HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE (JHSC)

Ø Members

Ø Duties

Ø Recommendations

Ø Meetings

Ø Education

HEALTH AND SAFETY PROGRAM

A workplace that has 20 or more regular employees must establish and maintain a written occupational health and safety program, in consultation with the JHSC. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 28)

Plan contents

The program must include the following elements:

• Provision for training and supervising employees to ensure their health and safety
• Provision for preparing written work procedures required to implement safe and healthy work practices
• Provision for a JHSC
• Provision for selecting JHSC members
• A hazard identification system that includes evaluation of the workplace to identify potential hazards, procedures and schedules for regular inspections, procedures for ensuring hazards are reported and the accountability of those people who are responsible for correcting the hazards, and identifying the circumstances where hazards must be reported by the employer to the committee or representative, if any, and the procedures for doing so
• A system for workplace occupational health and safety monitoring, prompt follow-up and control of identified hazards
• A system for the prompt investigation of hazardous occurrences to determine their causes and the actions needed to prevent recurrences
• Maintenance of records and statistics, including reports of occupational health and safety inspections and occupational health and safety investigations, with provision for making them available to those people who are entitled to receive them
• Provision for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of the program

The employer must provide copy of the program to the committee or representative, and on request, to an employee at the workplace. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 28)

WORKPLACE INSPECTIONS

The duties of the JHSC include participating in workplace inspections. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 31)

JOINT HEALTH AND SAFETY COMMITTEE (JHSC)

Every workplace where 20 or more people are regularly employed must have a joint occupational health and safety committee (JHSC). (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 29)

Members

The number of JHSC members is to be agreed to by the employer and the employees. At least 50 percent of the JHSC members must be non-management. Both a worker representative and a management representative must act as co-chairs for the JHSC. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 30)

Duties

The duties of the JHSC include the co-operative identification of hazards, compliance auditing, complaint resolution, advising on PPE and other protective devices, and advising on health and safety policies and programs. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 31)

An employer must notify the JHSC and an employee-selected member must be allowed to observe workplace testing or monitoring. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 42)

Recommendations

An employer must respond within 21 days to written recommendations and requests for response from the JHSC. If the JHSC is not satisfied with the answer, they may report to the Department of Labour. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 34)

Meetings

JHSC meetings are to be held at least monthly. The JHSC establishes own rules. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 30)

Committee members are entitled to paid time for meetings and other duties. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 29)

Education

JHSC members are entitled to time off from work as is necessary to take any training prescribed by the regulations. (Occupational Health and Safety Act, 30)

Back to top

Continue by clicking any item on the menu bar on the left.