Health & Safety at Work - "Prevention Starts Here"

Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act gives workers rights. It sets out roles for employers, supervisors and workers so they can work together to make workplaces safer.

Improve Health and Safety:

• Find out about your Joint Health and Safety Committee or Health and Safety Representative.
• Talk to your employer, supervisor, workers, joint health and safety committee or health and safety representative about health and safety concerns.

Workers have the right to:

• Know about workplace hazards and what to do about them
• Participate in solving workplace health and safety problems
• Refuse work they believe is unsafe

Workers must:

• Follow the law and workplace health and safety policies and procedures
• Wear and use the protective equipment required by their employer
• Work and act in a way that won’t hurt themselves or anyone else
• Report any hazards or injuries to their supervisor

Employers must:

• Make sure workers know about hazards and dangers by providing information, instruction and supervision on how to work safely
• Make sure supervisors know what is required to protect workers’ health and safety on the job
• Create workplace health and safety policies and procedures
• Make sure everyone follows the law and the workplace health and safety policies and procedures
• Make sure workers wear and use the right protective equipment
• Do everything reasonable in the circumstances to protect workers from being hurt or getting a work-related illness.

Supervisors must:

• Tell workers about hazards and dangers, and respond to their concerns
• Show workers how to work safely, and make sure they follow the law and workplace health and safety policies and procedures
• Make sure workers wear and use the right protective equipment
• Do everything reasonable in the circumstances to protect workers from being hurt or getting a work-related illness.

Call the Ministry of Labour at 1-877-202-0008.
Report critical injuries, fatalities, work refusals anytime.
Workplace health and safety information, weekdays 8:30am – 5:00pm.
Emergency? Always call 911 immediately.

Find out more: ontario.ca/healthandsafetyatwork