Duties of the Employer
All employers must meet the minimum requirements for health and safety standards as required by law. An Employer must: Provide a safe and healthy workplace;
Establish and maintain an effective health and safety program and obtain input from the occupational Safety & health committee (OSHC);
Make sure that managers and supervisors are trained, supported, and held accountable for fulfilling their workplace health and safety requirements;
Oversee the Safety and Health performance of their managers and supervisors;
Make sure workers have the information, training, certification, supervision, and experience to do their jobs safely;
Make sure medical/first aid facilities are provided as needed;
Set-up effective occupational health committees;
Cooperate with the OSHC, occupational Safety and Health (OS&H) representative and other parties to resolve health and safety issues in a timely fashion;
Keep OSHC/OS&H representative meeting minutes on file and readily available;
Ensure workers are not exposed to harassment in the workplace; and
Ensure that legal health and safety requirements are met.
Employers are also required to have a copy of country and organization Employment Act and regulations readily available to workers and management. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that the sub-trades on-site are following health and safety regulations. They should receive a site orientation before starting work, have the appropriate training certification readily available and be included in the documentation, for example, daily toolbox/safety meetings.
Supervisors are also required to ensure that sub-trades are following the OS&H Regulations, the company safety program and as well being part of the daily paperwork and ongoing documentation.
Duties of the Supervisor
Anyone on site who is responsible for directing workers or overseeing work with sub-trades is considered a supervisor under the occupational health and safety regulations. This is important for employers to know and understand. An employee does not have to have the word “supervisor” in their title to be considered a supervisor under legislation. It is the employer’s responsibility to make sure that whomever is directed to supervise has the appropriate training to do so. Supervisors must:
Understand and ensure compliance with workplace health and safety requirements;
Cooperate with the occupational health committee, ensure that it functions properly, and ensure all workers support committee members in their health and safety activities;
Make sure hazards are identified and proper steps are taken to eliminate the hazards or control the risks;
Inspect work areas and correct unsafe acts and conditions;
Instruct and coach workers to follow safe work procedures;
Ensure only authorized, competent workers operate equipment;
Ensure equipment is properly maintained;
Ensure the necessary personal protective equipment is provided to workers and used properly;
Know how to safely handle, store, produce, and dispose of chemical and biological substances at the workplace;
Understand and implement emergency procedures;
Report and investigate incidents (meaning accidents and dangerous occurrences);
Promote health and safety awareness;
Cooperate with other parties in dealing with health and safety issues;
Ensure that workers under their direct supervision are sufficiently supervised; and
Ensure that workers under their direct supervision are not exposed to harassment at their workplace.
For more information on employer duties, refer to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. For the supervisor, refer to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, Supervision of Work.