A regulation under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) requires that workers and supervisors receive basic health and safety awareness training. The requirements came into force on July 1, 2014.
Complying with this regulation is unlikely to satisfy your training due diligence beyond the most basic level. But failing to comply is unlawful in itself, and may also be strong evidence of a lack of commitment to workplace health and safety.
What worker training must cover
- workers' rights and duties, and the duties of employers and supervisors, under the OHSA
- the roles of health and safety representatives and joint health and safety committees under the OHSA
- the roles of the Ministry of Labour, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and designated safe workplace associations, medical clinics and training centres
- common workplace hazards
- the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), with respect to information and instruction on controlled products (as provided in Regulation 860)
- occupational illness, including latency
What supervisor training must cover
- workers' rights and duties, and the duties of employers and supervisors, under the OHSA
- the roles of health and safety representatives and joint health and safety committees under the OHSA
- the roles of the Ministry of Labour, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, and designated safe workplace associations, medical clinics and training centres
- recognizing, assessing and controlling workplace hazards, and evaluating those controls
- sources of information on occupational health and safety
Exemptions
A worker or supervisor who has already completed a program that included basic health and safety awareness training is exempt, as long as they give the employer proof of the training and the employer can verify that it meets the requirements of the regulation.
Supervisors are exempt from the worker training if they were already working as a supervisor when the regulation came into force and had received training that meets the supervisor requirements above.
Records
The employer must keep a record of the training, and also a record of employees who are exempt. On request, the employer must give a worker or supervisor proof of their training, or of their exemption in the case of supervisors. The worker or supervisor can ask for this proof up to six months after their employment ends.
The regulation also took over the provisions of Ontario Regulation 780/94 on certification training for joint health and safety committee members. Ontario Regulation 780/94 was revoked.
What to do
Many employers already cover basic health and safety awareness in their training programs, but review your programs carefully to make sure they comply. This is an area where the Ministry of Labour enforces compliance through workplace inspections and industry blitzes. The Ministry also offers free online learning tools that provide a certificate of completion.