It’s up to everyone in the workplace to do their part to prevent work-related injuries and diseases for themselvesand their colleagues. The Canada Labour Code is in place to strengthen employers’ and employees’ self-reliance in dealing with occupational health and safety issues and thereby making workplaces safer. Do you know your rights and duties as an employee?
Here’s a quick overview of employee rights and duties according to the Code (more details can be found here):
You have the right to:
Know
- You have the right to be informed of known or foreseeable hazards in the workplace and to be provided with the information, instructions, training, and supervision necessary to protect your health and safety.
Participate
- As health and safety representatives or workplace health and safety committee or policy health and safety committee members, employees have the right to participate in identifying and correcting work-related health and safety concerns.
Refuse
- You have the right to refuse to work if you have reasonable cause to believe that your workplace presents a danger to you; the use or operation of a machine or apparatus presents a danger to you or to another employee; and the performance of an activity constitutes a danger to you or to another employee.
You have the duty to:
Use all safety materials, equipment, devices, and clothing that are provided by the employer and are intended to protect employees;
- Follow procedures relating to the health and safety of employees;
- Follow all instructions provided by the employer concerning the health and safety of employees;
- Co-operate with any person carrying out a duty or function required by the Code;
- Report to the employer any thing or circumstance that is likely to be hazardous to employees or any other person in the workplace;
- Report to the employer all work-related accidents, occupational diseases, or other hazardous occurrences that have caused injury to you or any other person;
- Report to the employer any situation you believe to be a contravention of Part II of the Code by the employer, another employee, or any other person;
- Comply with every oral or written direction given by a health and safety officer or an appeals officer; and
- Respond in writing to a health and safety officer’s direction or report when requested to do so by the health and safety officer.
If you’ve been critically injured, contact us.