WorkSafeBC has approved the addition of the following three new sections to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation (OHSR) relating to Joint Committees and Worker Representatives:
- Section 3.26 - Evaluation of Joint Committees - Employers must undertake an annual evaluation of each of their Joint Committee(s) to examine its effectiveness and identify possible improvement. The evaluation must be conducted by either the co- chairs, the employer, or a person retained by the employer, but in all cases input from the co-chairs is required. The evaluation must include at minimum consideration of the topics identified in section 3.26(3). The results of the evaluation must be discussed by the Joint Committee and any comments or feedback must be incorporated into the final evaluation report.
- Section 3.27 - Minimum Training Requirements - Employers must provide new Joint Committee members must receive at least 8 hours of instruction and training, while new worker health and safety representatives must receive at least 4 hours. All training and instruction must take place as soon as practicable but not more than 6 months after being selected and must at minimum include the topics listed in section 3.27. Time spent undertaking this training and instruction must be paid by the employer and is in addition to the 8 hour entitlement of education leave provided for in section 135 of the Act. The requirements apply to individuals selected to be on the Joint Committee on or after April 3, 2017, but there are exceptions for people who were previously on the Joint Committee or who have already received the training.
- Section 3.28 - Participation in Incident Investigations - WorkSafeBC has clarified the role of employer and worker representatives in the employer's fulfillment of its preliminary and full incident investigations. More specifically, section 3.28 provides that the "participation" of employer and worker representatives includes, but is not limited to:
- assisting the persons carrying out the investigation with gathering information relating to the investigation;
- assisting the persons carrying out the investigation with analyzing the information gathered; and
- assisting the persons carrying out the investigation with identifying any corrective actions necessary to prevent reoccurrence of similar incidents.
Client are encouraged to review their internal policies and practices around Joint Committees and Worker Representatives and revise as necessary to ensure they will be compliant with the new requirements which come into force on April 3, 2017. Employers failing to comply with the requirements could face non-compliance orders and in some cases, financial penalties.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
