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OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY
Governing Province: ________
§ 1 – INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
1.1 This Occupational Health and Safety Policy (the “Policy”) is issued by ________ (the “Employer”) and takes effect on, or was last revised as of, ________.
1.2 The Employer is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of all workers, and to protecting them from injury and occupational illness in the workplace. The Employer recognizes that occupational health and safety is a shared responsibility requiring the active cooperation of the Employer, supervisors, workers, contractors, and all other persons present at the workplace.
1.3 The Employer shall take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers, and shall comply with the applicable occupational health and safety legislation of the Province identified above and all regulations made thereunder, as amended from time to time.
1.4 This Policy operates concurrently with all other applicable contracts, documents, rules, regulations, and workplace policies. In the event of any inconsistency, the requirement providing the greater degree of protection to workers shall prevail, and the Employer shall rectify any inconsistency.
§ 2 – SCOPE AND APPLICATION
2.1 This Policy applies to all workers, independent contractors, prospective employees, staff, personnel, officers, agents, consultants, volunteers, and all other persons who are exposed to or perform work in connection with the workplace operations of the Employer (collectively, “workers”).
2.2 This Policy applies to all such workers whether full-time or part-time, temporary or permanent, and regardless of position or seniority.
§ 3 – RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS
3.1 Employer. The Employer aims to prevent accidents, injuries, and occupational illness through established workplace practices and procedures and accepts ultimate responsibility for occupational health and safety. The Employer shall regularly identify and assess risks and workplace hazards, including in respect of new processes, equipment, substances, or changes in the work environment, and shall implement appropriate control measures based on its findings. The Employer shall provide the information, instruction, supervision, equipment, and facilities necessary to protect the health and safety of workers.
3.2 Supervisors. Supervisors are responsible for the health and safety of the workers under their supervision and shall ensure that such workers are made aware of, and comply with, applicable legislation and this Policy, that prescribed protective equipment and devices are used, and that workers are advised of any known or foreseeable hazards.
3.3 Workers. Every worker shall make a positive effort to work safely, take all reasonable precautions in the workplace, use prescribed protective equipment and devices, comply with applicable legislation and this Policy, and promptly report to their supervisor any hazard, incident, defect, or unsafe condition of which they become aware.
3.4 Joint Health and Safety Committee / Health and Safety Representative. Where required by applicable legislation, the Employer shall establish and maintain a joint health and safety committee or appoint a health and safety representative, as applicable, and shall cooperate with such committee or representative in the performance of their statutory functions.
3.5 Where required by law, all workers must complete the prescribed occupational health and safety awareness training, any training required in respect of work at heights, and any other training the Employer deems necessary for the safe performance of specific tasks.
§ 4 – EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
4.1 The Employer has emergency procedures in place to address potential accidents or incidents and to ensure the readiness of all workers. The emergency plan may be summarized as follows:
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4.2 Workers shall familiarize themselves with the applicable emergency procedures, evacuation routes, and the location of first aid and emergency equipment.
§ 5 – RIGHT TO REFUSE UNSAFE WORK
5.1 In accordance with applicable occupational health and safety legislation, a worker may refuse to perform work where the worker has reasonable grounds to believe that the work is likely to endanger the worker or another person by reason of a physical condition, a dangerous circumstance, or the condition of equipment, a machine, a device, or the workplace.
5.2 A worker who refuses work shall promptly report the refusal and the reasons for it to the Employer or the worker’s immediate supervisor.
5.3 Upon receiving a work refusal, the Employer shall promptly investigate the matter in the presence of the worker and, where applicable, a member of the joint health and safety committee or the health and safety representative, shall assess the reported concern, and shall take the actions required by applicable legislation to address and resolve the matter.
5.4 No worker shall be subjected to dismissal, discipline, threat, or other reprisal for exercising a right under this Policy or under applicable occupational health and safety legislation.
§ 6 – TRAINING PROGRAM
6.1 In addition to statutorily mandated worker training, the Employer shall maintain a program to assist in implementing this Policy and to ensure workers are aware of potential workplace hazards and understand the necessary safety procedures. The program may be described as follows:
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6.2 Training programs may be recurring to ensure continuing education and to ensure that workers remain aware of new or revised safety protocols.
§ 7 – REPORTING AND INVESTIGATION OF INCIDENTS
7.1 All workplace accidents, injuries, incidents, occupational illnesses, and near misses must be reported to the Employer or the worker’s immediate supervisor as soon as practicable.
7.2 The Employer shall maintain records of all reported incidents and shall investigate each incident to determine its cause and to implement measures to prevent recurrence.
7.3 Where an incident results in a critical injury, fatality, occupational illness, or other event required to be reported under applicable legislation, the Employer shall report and provide notice of the incident to the applicable regulatory authority, being ________, and to the joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative, within the time and in the manner prescribed by law.
7.4 The Employer shall preserve the scene of a critical injury or fatality, and shall not interfere with, disturb, destroy, alter, or carry away any wreckage, article, or thing connected therewith, except as permitted by applicable legislation or as necessary to save a life, relieve human suffering, or maintain an essential service.
§ 8 – CONTACT
8.1 Should you have any questions or concerns arising from this Policy, or need to report an incident, kindly contact the Employer using the following information:
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§ 9 – REVIEW AND AMENDMENT
9.1 This Policy shall be reviewed at least annually, or more frequently as needed, to ensure its ongoing effectiveness, relevance, and compliance with applicable legislation.
9.2 The Employer reserves the right to amend, modify, or supplement this Policy from time to time. Any updates or revisions will be communicated to all workers.
§ 10 – APPLICABLE LAW AND SEVERABILITY
10.1 The Employer and all workers shall comply with all applicable federal and provincial occupational health and safety legislation in force in the Province of ________.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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I further understand that ________ reserves the right to make changes, amendments, and modifications to this Policy as it sees fit, and that this Policy will be reviewed annually or as needed, with any necessary updates communicated to all workers.
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Worker Signature
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Worker Name (Print)
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Date