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Closing the Loop: Setting Up a Health & Safety System in Your Small Business (Tourism & Hospitality)

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32 Workplace Safety & Prevention Services Tourism & Hospitality: Closing the Loop: Setting Up a Health & Safety System in Your Small Business common Hazards (continued) Drowning Working near water poses the grave risk of drowning. Think of water parks, resorts, marinas, water sports, fishing camps and golf courses. Control measures must be suitable and sufficient. In the context of golf courses, an evaluation of the terrain and slope conditions will ensure safe operating speeds are used and safe distances are kept from the water hazards. work Refusals You wouldn't want to do work that you felt was unsafe. You wouldn't expect your employees to do work that they felt was unsafe. The law makes provisions for workers to refuse work they believe is unsafe. It's important to understand that most work refusals never actually become work refusals, at least not in the formal sense. Anytime an employee reports a hazard and you correct it, that's a work refusal that didn't happen. But there are situations when it may become necessary to invoke the right to refuse. Perhaps your hazard reporting system is in its early stages or it's an urgent matter; perhaps it's a case of differing opinions, between employees or between an employee and a supervisor. The work refusal process is there to protect everyone and everyone should understand how the process works: An employee can initiate the work refusal process when they have reason to believe that something that they are doing, or are about to do, is unsafe. There are no magic words, however, they do have to report their refusal to work to a supervisor. Once a supervisor has received the complaint, they must investigate, in the presence of the employee and the employee's health & safety representative. If the supervisor and the health & safety representative agree that an unsafe condition exists, then the employee can be assigned to another task until corrective action is taken. If the supervisor does not agree and the employee continues to refuse, based on reasonable grounds, the Ministry of Labour is contacted to investigate. While they wait for the Ministry of Labour inspector to arrive, the supervisor can assign the task to another employee provided that they explain the previous employee's reason for refusing, in the presence of the employee's health & safety representative. Once the Ministry of Labour investigates, they will render their decision and leave an order for corrective action, if necessary. The law says that an employee may not be disciplined for initiating a work refusal in good faith.

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