Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (SOR/86-304)

Program Evaluation

• 19.7 (1) The employer shall evaluate the effectiveness of the hazard prevention program, including its ergonomics-related components, and, if necessary, revise it

  • (a) at least every three years;

  • (b) whenever there is a change in conditions in respect of the hazards; and

  • (c) whenever new hazard information in respect of a hazard in the work place becomes available to the employer.

• (2) The evaluation of the effectiveness of the prevention program shall be based on the following documents and information:

  • (a) conditions related to the work place and the activities of the employees;

  • (b) any work place inspection reports;

  • (c) any hazardous occurrence investigation reports;

  • (d) any safety audits;

  • (e) first aid records and any injury statistics, including records and statistics relating to ergonomics-related first aid and injuries;

  • (f) any observations of the policy and work place committees, or the health and safety representative, on the effectiveness of the prevention program; and

  • (g) any other relevant information.

Reports

• 19.8 (1) If a program evaluation has been conducted under section 19.7, the employer shall prepare a program evaluation report.

• (2) The employer shall keep readily available every program evaluation report for six years after the date of the report.

PART XXViolence Prevention in the Work Place

Interpretation

20.1 The employer shall carry out its obligations under this Part in consultation with and the participation of the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative.

20.2 In this Part, “work place violence” constitutes any action, conduct, threat or gesture of a person towards an employee in their work place that can reasonably be expected to cause harm, injury or illness to that employee.

Work Place Violence Prevention Policy

20.3 The employer shall develop and post at a place that is accessible to all employees a work place violence prevention policy setting out, among other things, the obligations of the employer, which include the following:

• (a) to provide a safe, healthy and violence-free work place;

• (b) to dedicate sufficient attention, resources and time to address factors that contribute to work place violence including, but not limited to, bullying, teasing, and abusive and other aggressive behaviour and to prevent and protect against it;

• (c) to communicate to its employees information in its possession about factors contributing to work place violence; and

• (d) to assist employees who have been exposed to work place violence.

Identification of Factors that Contribute to Work Place Violence

20.4 The employer shall identify all factors that contribute to work place violence, by taking into account, at a minimum, the following:

• (a) its experience in dealing with those factors and with work place violence;

• (b) the experience of employers in dealing with those factors and with violence in similar work places;

• (c) the location and circumstances in which the work activities take place;

• (d) the employees’ reports of work place violence or the risk of work place violence;

• (e) the employer’s investigation of work place violence or the risk of work place violence; and

• (f) the measures that are already in place to prevent and protect against work place violence.

Assessment

• 20.5 (1) The employer shall assess the potential for work place violence, using the factors identified under section 20.4, by taking into account, at a minimum, the following:

  • (a) the nature of the work activities;

  • (b) the working conditions;

  • (c) the design of the work activities and surrounding environment;

  • (d) the frequency of situations that present a risk of work place violence;

  • (e) the severity of the adverse consequences to the employee exposed to a risk of work place violence;

  • (f) the observations and recommendations of the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative, and of the employees; and

  • (g) the measures that are already in place to prevent and protect against work place violence.

• (2) The employer, when consulting with the policy committee or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative, shall not disclose information whose disclosure is prohibited by law or could reasonably be expected to threaten the safety of individuals.

Controls

• 20.6 (1) Once an assessment of the potential for work place violence has been carried out under section 20.5, the employer shall develop and implement systematic controls to eliminate or minimize, work place violence or a risk of work place violence, if feasible.

• (2) The controls shall be developed and implemented as soon as feasible, but not later than 90 days after the day on which the risk of work place violence has been assessed.

• (3) Once controls referred to in subsection (1) are implemented, the employer shall establish procedures for appropriate follow-up maintenance and corrective measures, including measures to promptly respond to unforeseen risks of work place violence.

• (4) Any controls established to eliminate or minimize work place violence shall not create or increase the risk of work place violence.

Work Place Violence Prevention Measures Review

• 20.7 (1) The employer shall review the effectiveness of the work place violence prevention measures taken in accordance with sections 20.3 to 20.6 at least once every three years and update them whenever there is a change that compromises the effectiveness of those measures.

• (2) The review shall include consideration of the following:

  • (a) work place conditions and work locations and activities;

  • (b) work place inspection reports;

  • (c) the employees’ reports and the employer’s records of investigations into work place violence or the risk of work place violence;

  • (d) work place health and safety evaluations;

  • (e) data on work place violence or the risk of work place violence in the employees’ work place or in similar work places;

  • (f) the observations of the policy committee, or if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative; and

  • (g) other relevant information.

• (3) The employer shall keep, for a period of three years, a written or electronic record of findings following the review of the work place violence prevention measures, and make it readily available for examination by the Minister.

Procedures in Response to Work Place Violence

• 20.8 (1) The employer shall develop in writing and implement emergency notification procedures to summon assistance where immediate assistance is required, in response to work place violence.

• (2) The employer shall ensure that employees are made aware of the emergency notification procedures applicable to them and that the text of those procedures is posted at a location readily accessible to those employees.

• (3) In the development and implementation of emergency notification procedures, the employer’s decision of whether or not to notify the police shall take into account the nature of the work place violence and the concerns of employees who experienced the work place violence.

• (4) If the police are investigating a violent occurrence, the work place committee or the health and safety representative shall be notified of their investigation, unless notification is prohibited by law.

• (5) The employer shall develop and implement measures to assist employees who have experienced work place violence.