OHSA Ontario & Employers Responsibilities

February 13, 2023

Elyia Morgan

Employer

Welcome to the Health & Safety Ontario website. Here you'll find a wide range of information and resources that will help you with your health and safety program and to keep you in legal compliance.

What the law says

Ontario's Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) gives employers responsibility to:

Keep a safe and well-maintained workplace; to take all reasonable precautions to protect your workers from illness and/or injury
Provide information about the hazards in your workplace, proper safety equipment, training, and competent supervision
Post the WSIB's "In Case of Injury at Work" poster and to follow proper procedures in case of injury
Post the Occupational Health & Safety Act in your workplace
Have worker representation for health and safety-if you have 20+ workers or you deal with a designated substance you must have a joint health and safety committee (JHSC). Construction projects last more than 3 months with 20+ workers must also have a JHSC. Workplaces with more than 5, but less than 20 are required to have a health and safety representative

Your supervisors also have responsibilities in the workplace. These include:

Providing a safe workplace and to assign safe work; taking all reasonable precautions to protect your workers from illness and/or injury
Informing your workers about job hazards and training them to do their jobs safely
Providing supervision to ensure that they work safely and use equipment and protective devices properly where required

What is the business case

Failure to comply with the OHSA could result in fines of up to $500,000 and/or up to a year's imprisonment. Corporations can be fined up to $1.5M. Employers are also subject to penalties for failing to report to the WSIB-within 3 days of learning of a workplace injury or illness.

Supervisors who fail to comply with the OHSA are also subject to fines of up to $500,000.

Penalties are current as of August 31, 2022.

What you can do

Understand your legal obligations and comply with them
Ensure that procedures and measures for workplace health and safety are established and are always followed
Ensure equipment, materials and protective devices required by law are provided and used; this includes guards on machinery
Ensure that all hazards, illnesses and injuries are reported immediately
Keep your workplace health and safety policies, procedures and programs current
Know what hazards are in your workplace, inform supervisors about the hazards and how to handle them; encourage your workers to report unsafe conditions or hazards to you or your supervisors
Respond promptly to all health and safety concerns
Demonstrate your commitment to health and safety with your own consistent, safe work practices; lead by example by attending training sessions, and use and wear safety equipment when it's required
Provide training to supervisors so that they maintain their competence

How WSPS can help

Consulting

Offering one-on-one guidance and support, our experts will help you every step of the way. From conducting hazard assessments, to delivering personalized training, either on-site or virtually, WSPS can help enhance your specific programs, improve your ROI and remain in legal compliance. To learn more, connect with a consultant.

Training

Sign up for required OHSA training. All workplaces in Ontario that are covered under the OHSA act must ensure workers and supervisors have completed a basic H&S training program:

Health & Safety Awareness for Ontario Workers (1-hour eCourse)
Health & Safety Awareness for Ontario Supervisors (1-hour eCourse)

Learn how to navigate the OHS Act and understand the duties of a supervisor.

Duties & Responsibilities (5-minute video for all workplace parties)
Safety Health & the Law (1-day instructor led online classroom training)
Supervisor Responsibilities and Due Diligence (3-4 hour eCourse and half-day online instructor led classroom training)
Supervisor Responsibilities and Due Diligence Refresher (free 10-minute eCourse)

Grow the skills needed to carry out OHSA legal duties.

Managing Hazards & Risks (3.5 hours online instructor led classroom training)
Workplace Inspections (1 hour awareness eCourse)
Accident investigations (1 hour awareness eCourse)
Investigating Accidents & Incidents (1/2 day online instructor led classroom training)
Effective Workplace Inspections (3.5 hours instructor-led)

Get required HSR/JHSC training.

1-19 employees must designate and train a health and safety representative
20+ employees must establish and train at least one work place health and safety committee in every workplace with 20 or more employees
300+ employees must also establish and train at least one policy health and safety committee in every workplace with 300 or more employees.

Health and Safety Representative (HSR) Training (8 hour self-paced online course).
JHSC Certification Part 1 (3-day instructor led online training) or (self-paced online learning)
JHSC Certification Part 2 by sector ( visit the JHSC overview page for more information on dates and times)
JHSC Refresher (1 day instructor online training)

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