Canada Labour Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. L-2)

123.1 [Repealed, 1996, c. 12, s. 2]

Duties of Employers

Marginal note:General duty of employer

124 Every employer shall ensure that the health and safety at work of every person employed by the employer is protected.

Marginal note:Specific duties of employer

• 125 (1) Without restricting the generality of section 124, every employer shall, in respect of every work place controlled by the employer and, in respect of every work activity carried out by an employee in a work place that is not controlled by the employer, to the extent that the employer controls the activity,

  • (a) ensure that all permanent and temporary buildings and structures meet the prescribed standards;

  • (b) install guards, guard-rails, barricades and fences in accordance with prescribed standards;

  • (c) investigate, record and report in the manner and to the authorities as prescribed all accidents, occupational diseases and other hazardous occurrences known to the employer;

  • (d) post in a conspicuous place accessible to every employee

    • (i) a copy of this Part,

    • (ii) a statement of the employer’s general policy concerning the health and safety at work of employees, and

    • (iii) any other printed material related to health and safety that is prescribed or that may be directed by the Minister;

  • (e) make readily available to employees for examination, in printed or electronic form, a copy of the regulations made under this Part that apply to the work place;

  • (f) if a copy of the regulations is made available in electronic form, provide appropriate training to employees to enable them to have access to the regulations and, on the request of an employee, make a printed copy of the regulations available;

  • (g) keep and maintain in prescribed form and manner prescribed health and safety records;

  • (h) provide prescribed first-aid facilities and health services;

  • (i) provide prescribed sanitary and personal facilities;

  • (j) provide, in accordance with prescribed standards, potable water;

  • (k) ensure that the vehicles and mobile equipment used by the employees in the course of their employment meet prescribed standards;

  • (l) provide every person granted access to the work place by the employer with prescribed safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing;

  • (m) ensure that the use, operation and maintenance of the following are in accordance with prescribed standards:

    • (i) boilers and pressure vessels,

    • (ii) escalators, elevators and other devices for moving persons or freight,

    • (iii) all equipment for the generation, distribution or use of electricity,

    • (iv) gas or oil burning equipment or other heat generating equipment, and

    • (v) heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems;

  • (n) ensure that the levels of ventilation, lighting, temperature, humidity, sound and vibration are in accordance with prescribed standards;

  • (o) comply with prescribed standards relating to fire safety and emergency measures;

  • (p) ensure, in the prescribed manner, that employees have safe entry to, exit from and occupancy of the work place;

  • (q) provide, in the prescribed manner, each employee with the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure their health and safety at work;

  • (r) maintain all installed guards, guard-rails, barricades and fences in accordance with prescribed standards;

  • (s) ensure that each employee is made aware of every known or foreseeable health or safety hazard in the area where the employee works;

  • (t) ensure that the machinery, equipment and tools used by the employees in the course of their employment meet prescribed health, safety and ergonomic standards and are safe under all conditions of their intended use;

  • (u) ensure that the work place, work spaces and procedures meet prescribed ergonomic standards;

  • (v) adopt and implement prescribed safety codes and safety standards;

  • (w) ensure that every person granted access to the work place by the employer is familiar with and uses in the prescribed circumstances and manner all prescribed safety materials, equipment, devices and clothing;

  • (x) comply with every oral or written direction given to the employer by the Minister or an appeals officer concerning the health and safety of employees;

  • (y) ensure that the activities of every person granted access to the work place do not endanger the health and safety of employees;

  • (z) ensure that employees who have supervisory or managerial responsibilities are adequately trained in health and safety and are informed of the responsibilities they have under this Part where they act on behalf of their employer;

  • (z.01) ensure that members of policy and work place committees and health and safety representatives receive the prescribed training in health and safety and are informed of their responsibilities under this Part;

  • (z.02) respond as soon as possible to reports made by employees under paragraph 126(1)(g);

  • (z.03) develop, implement and monitor, in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, with the work place committee or the health and safety representative, a prescribed program for the prevention of hazards in the work place appropriate to its size and the nature of the hazards in it that also provides for the education of employees in health and safety matters;

  • (z.04) where the program referred to in paragraph (z.03) does not cover certain hazards unique to a work place, develop, implement and monitor, in consultation with the work place committee or the health and safety representative, a prescribed program for the prevention of those hazards that also provides for the education of employees in health and safety matters related to those hazards;

  • (z.05) consult the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative to plan the implementation of changes that might affect occupational health and safety, including work processes and procedures;

  • (z.06) consult the work place committee or the health and safety representative in the implementation of changes that might affect occupational health and safety, including work processes and procedures;

  • (z.07) ensure the availability in the work place of premises, equipment and personnel necessary for the operation of the policy and work place committees;

  • (z.08) cooperate with the policy and work place committees or the health and safety representative in the execution of their duties under this Part;

  • (z.09) develop health and safety policies and programs in consultation with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, with the work place committee or the health and safety representative;

  • (z.10) respond in writing to recommendations made by the policy and work place committees or the health and safety representative within thirty days after receiving them, indicating what, if any, action will be taken and when it will be taken;

  • (z.11) provide to the policy committee, if any, and to the work place committee or the health and safety representative, a copy of any report on hazards in the work place, including an assessment of those hazards;

  • (z.12) ensure that the work place committee or the health and safety representative inspects each month all or part of the work place, so that every part of the work place is inspected at least once each year;

  • (z.13) when necessary, develop, implement and monitor a program for the provision of personal protective equipment, clothing, devices or materials, in consultation, except in emergencies, with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, with the work place committee or the health and safety representative;

  • (z.14) take all reasonable care to ensure that all of the persons granted access to the work place, other than the employer’s employees, are informed of every known or foreseeable health or safety hazard to which they are likely to be exposed in the work place;

  • (z.15) meet with the health and safety representative as necessary to address health and safety matters;

  • (z.16) take the prescribed steps to prevent and protect against violence in the work place;

  • (z.17) post and keep posted, in a conspicuous place or places where they are likely to come to the attention of employees, the names, work place telephone numbers and work locations of all of the members of work place committees or of the health and safety representative;

  • (z.18) provide, within thirty days after receiving a request, or as soon as possible after that, the information requested from the employer by a policy committee under subsection 134.1(5) or (6), by a work place committee under subsection 135(8) or (9) or by a health and safety representative under subsection 136(6) or (7); and

  • (z.19) consult with the work place committee or the health and safety representative on the implementation and monitoring of programs developed in consultation with the policy committee.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Paragraph (1)(z.17) does not apply to an employer who controls

  • (a) a single work place at which fewer than twenty employees are normally employed, if all of those employees and the health and safety representative normally work at the same time and in the same location; or

  • (b) a single work place at which only one employee is normally employed.