Need
to know: Health & Safety
Health and safety is about preventing people from
being harmed at work or becoming ill through work, the law states that we must
not put ourselves; other workers or the public in danger and this applies to
all businesses of all sizes.
That said, many of us run our small businesses from
our homes. Our homes are often
overlooked when it comes to safety in fact safety gets thrown out the window
when we are at home. Did you know that
66% of accidents happen at home? Conduct
a health and safety audit on your home to see where you fall short when it
comes to safety at home.
In addition, under the Occupational Health and
Safety Act, a self employed person must abide by the sections of the act that
pertain to them.
[ 5 ] Self-employed people are required to notify a
director of the Ministry of Labour, in writing, if they sustain an occupational
injury or illness.
Outlined below are the OHSA obligations of an
employer under the General Duties of Employers Clauses and Prescribed Duties of
an Employer both under Section 25 & 26 of the act. Please note that under the act, Self Employed
Persons must follow (with necessary modifications the following sections of the
act:
4. Subsection 25 (1), clauses
26 (1) (c), (e), (f) and (g), subsection 33 (1) and sections 34, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41, 51, 52, 54, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 67, 68 and 69, and the regulations
in relation thereto, apply with necessary modifications to a self-employed
person. 2001, c. 9, Sched. I, s. 3 (1).
General Duties of Employers
An Ontario employer, who is covered by the
Act, has an obligation to:
- instruct, inform and supervise workers to protect
their health and safety [section
25(2)(a)];
- assist in a medical emergency by providing any
information–including confidential business information–to a qualified
medical practitioner who requests the information in order to diagnose or
treat any person [section
25(2)(b)];
- Appoint competent persons as supervisors [section 25(2)(c)]. "Competent person" has a
very specific meaning under the Act. He or she must:
- be qualified–through knowledge,
training and experience–to organize the work and its performance;
- be familiar with the Act and the
regulations that apply to the work being performed in the workplace;
- know about any actual or potential
danger to health and safety in the workplace; [ 1 ]
- inform a worker, or a person in authority over a
worker, about any hazard in the work and train that worker in the
handling, storage, use, disposal and transport of any equipment,
substances, tools, material, etc. [section
25(2)(d)];
- help committees and health and safety
representatives to carry out their duties [section 25(2)(e)];
- not employ workers who are under such age as may
be prescribed or knowingly permit underage persons to be in or near the
workplace [sections
25(2)(f) and (g)]; [ 2 ]
- take every precaution reasonable in the
circumstances for the protection of a worker [section 25(2)(h)];
- Post in the workplace a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, as well as
explanatory material prepared by the ministry that outlines the rights,
responsibilities and duties of workers. This material must be in English
and the majority language in the workplace [section 25(2)(i)];
- Prepare a written occupational health and safety
policy, review that policy at least once a year and set up a program to implement
it [section 25(2)(j)]. [ 3
] For guidance on how to do this, see Appendix A;
- post a copy of the occupational health and safety
policy in the workplace, where workers will be most likely to see it [section 25 (2)(k)];
- Provide the joint committee or the health and
safety representative with the results of any occupational health and
safety report that the employer has. If the report is in writing, the
employer must also provide a copy of the relevant parts of the report [section 25(2)(1)];
- Advise workers of the results of such a report.
If the report is in writing, the employer must, on request, make available
to workers copies of those portions that concern occupational health and
safety [section 25(2)(m)]; and
- ensure that every part of the physical structure
of the workplace can support all loads to which it may be subjected, in
accordance with the Building Code Act and any standards prescribed by the
ministry [section 25(1)(e)]. This
duty also applies to the self-employed.
Prescribed
Duties of Employers
The word "prescribed" appears in many sections of the Act.
It means that a regulation must exist in order to put into effect the
requirements of that section. Where there is no regulation, the requirements of
that section are not in force.
Employers and supervisors have an
obligation to know which regulations apply to their workplaces. If there is any
uncertainty, an inspector should be consulted.
Here is a list of duties of employers,
under the Act, which may be prescribed. The first seven duties also apply to the self-employed.
Where there is a regulation, an employer must:
- provide and maintain in good condition any
prescribed equipment, materials and protective devices [sections 25(1)(a) and (b)];
- ensure that the above are used in accordance
with the regulations [section
25(1)(d)];
- carry out any measures and procedures that
are prescribed for the workplace [section
25(1)(c)];
- keep and maintain accurate records, as
prescribed, of the handling, storage, use and disposal of biological,
chemical or physical agents [section
26(1)(c)];
- notify a director of the Ministry of Labour
of the use or introduction into a workplace of any prescribed biological,
chemical or physical agents [section
26(1)(e)];
- monitor, as prescribed, the levels of
biological, chemical, or physical agents and keep and post accurate
records of these levels [section
26(1)(f)];
- comply with a prescribed standard that limits
the exposure of a worker to biological, chemical or physical agents [section 26(1)(g)];
- keep,
maintain and make available to workers prescribed records of worker
exposure to chemical, biological or physical agents [section 26(1)(d)];
- establish
and maintain an occupational health service for workers, as prescribed [sections 26(1)(a) and (b)];
- provide
prescribed medical surveillance programs and safety-related medical
examinations and tests, for the benefit of workers [sections 26(1)(h) and (i)];
[ 4
]
- ensure,
where prescribed, that only workers who have taken any prescribed medical
examinations, tests or X-rays and who have been found physically fit to
work, be allowed to work or be in a workplace [section 26(1)(j)];
- where so
prescribed, provide a worker with written instructions on the measures and
procedures to be taken for his or her protection [section 26(1)(k)]; and
- Carry out
any prescribed training programs for workers, supervisors and committee
members [section 26(1)(l)].
When hiring
contractors or self employed persons must provide a copy of WSIB Certificate
and insurance for general liability to you or sign WSIB exemption form - 1158A General
Independent Operators Questionnaire.
Critical First Steps Checklist
There are some critical first steps you need to take. At a minimum have you:
|
Lynne Bard, BA (Honours), C.H.R.P., CES
Human Resources, Safety & Risk Management Experts
Taking the Complexity out of Compliance
President
Beyond Rewards Inc.
Phone: 519-821-7440
Cell: 519-830-7480
mail: lbard@beyondrewards.ca
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