Created by Norm Keith is an OH&S Lawyer and published July 30, 2024
Report published – OH&S Canada magazine (Fall 2024)
After four decades of advising and representing management and employers in occupational health and safety law matters across the country, I have significant experience with effective safety programs. That being said, it’s not usually the length of the safety policy or the program documents that determine the best program. Rather, employers who invest in a simple, practical, and effective safety program consistently get the best results. They generally have the least number of incidents, worker injuries and fatalities. Based on my experience, I have come up with a straightforward set of recommendations for employers to consider in this article.
Although the internal responsibility system (“IRS”) is the theory behind Canadian occupational health and safety (OHS) laws, and shared responsibility for workplace safety by all workplace stakeholders is great in theory, the fact is that employers have and will continue to shoulder the heaviest load for improving workplace safety under the current regulatory regime. Governments and OHS regulators have adopted and regularly increased the penalties for employers under their criminal sanctions model of OHS law enforcement across Canada. Although workers may have the most to lose, personally, from a workplace safety incident, employers have been the target of most safety incident legal enforcement across the country.
Since employers are largely left to take the lead in advancing workplace safety, a proactive approach is essential to improving workplace safety performance and reducing OHS legal risk. Therefore, these recommendations are intended to be a list of practical, constructive steps employers may take to enhance workplace safety for all workers. They start at the top of the house and include the entire organization in putting worker safety first.
- A clear commitment of the employer’s leadership to the priority of workplace safety for all workers.
- A clear acknowledgment of the IRS and the shared duties and responsibilities of the workplace stakeholders in the OHS policy and safety management system (SMS).
- An OHS policy and SMS, specific to their industry and workplace, that includes a job hazard analysis (JHA) for all jobs and/or tasks before work is started.
- A written safety work procedure (SWP) for all jobs and/or tasks that have a medium or high hazard ranking in their JHA before any work is started on that job or task.
- The training, instruction, and supervision of all workers in the employer’s OHS policy, SMS, JHA, and SWS that must be followed in the workplace.
- The employer’s OHS policy and SMS is assigned for line management implementation and accountability on a departmental basis.
- Enforcement of OHS policy and SMS by line management through counselling, warnings, suspension and termination, with oversight by the CEO.
- Annual OHS review, audit and assurance report by an independent and impartial third-party auditor to the CEO and board.
- The recognition and reward of line management on achieving OHS goals and milestones by the CEO and board.
- Participation of line management in industry and safety associations, promoting ongoing innovation and improvement of workplace safety.
Some industry- and employer-specific refinements may be necessary to meet the needs of specific workplace hazards and appropriate remediation responses. Some Canadian jurisdictions will vary in their OHS legal requirements to ensure compliance. Many workers’ incidents, injuries and fatalities are avoidable, as are the emotional and financial suffering of those workers’ families, if the right program is in place and properly enforced by employers. Economic cost, legal risk, and punishment of workplace stakeholders are also avoidable and this is where OHS law can play an important role in improving workplace safety. My sincere hope in writing this short article is to encourage safety professionals and their employers to practically and emphatically consider these recommendations.
In summary, the criminal sanctions model under current OHS laws and enforcement is a blunt and expensive policy instrument of governments and OHS regulators across Canada. Generally, better systems need to be put in place. It also takes significant taxpayer resources to have OHS regulators’ staff investigate and prosecute OHS charges, to say nothing of the staff and judicial infrastructure necessary in using the criminal sanctions model. However, with the criminal sanctions model being the current and continuing political policy of choice across the country, employers should be encouraged to take ownership of worker safety and incident prevention. The priority is the safety of workers and the resulting benefit for employers is the reduction of OHS legal risks and costs. These recommendations can help achieve that goal, with many other residual benefits for workers and employers alike, including increased morality, productivity, and profitability.
My opinion
Norm Keith is a celebrated lawyer in the occupational health and safety field. He was selected as the OH&S Lawyer of the Year, Gold Level, for the 2024 calendar year.
This report will give the reader an idea on how good Norm is.
Well done, Mr. Keith!
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
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‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
CEO & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.