Health and Safety

All workers in British Columbia have four basic Health and Safety Rights

1. The Right to Know
   All workers have the right to know what hazards exist in the workplace. This includes all physical and mental hazards. This also includes hazards such as risk of violence.
2. The Right to Participate
   All workers have the right to participate in Occupational Health and Safety activities in the workplace. This right includes being able to participate in the Joint Occupational Health and Safety (JOHS) Committee, and to report hazards and injuries.
3. The Right to Refuse
   All workers have the right to refuse work that is hazardous.
4. The Right to No Discrimination
   All workers have the right to be free from reprisal for refusing unsafe work or contacting WCB.

1. File a “Worker’s Report of Injury or Occupational Disease to Employer” (WCB Form 6A) available at www.worksafebc.com. The employer is required to file a “Form 7” within three days of receiving the report from the member.

2. As soon as the Form 6A has been completed and medical attention sought, call Teleclaim at 1-888-WORKERS. A representative of WorkSafeBC will ask appropriate questions. Calling Teleclaim expedites the process.
• If you use the Teleclaim service, ask for a copy of your report.
• If Teleclaim is not available, complete an “Application for Compensation and Report of Injury or Occupational Disease.” This is WCB Form 6 and is also available online. This must be mailed to WorkSafeBC and does slow the process of getting a quick decision.

3. Always copy “Form 6A” to the local Teachers’ Association office.

4. Inform an administrative officer as soon as possible of the injury or disease that you feel is work related. Make sure the information is documented. The employer fills out and files WCB Form 7.

5. Make sure the first aid log at the work site has been filled in by the appropriate person, especially for minor injuries. 6. Get medical attention as soon as possible. Don’t wait in the hope that recovery will occur rapidly. Always report your injury or occupational disease to your doctor and request that the doctor file a “Physicians First Report” (Form 8) to WCB. A WCB claims officer should contact the worker after they have received the Form 6,  or received a report from the Teleclaim Officer.

7. Contact the BCTF WCB Advocate for assistance: Luke Olver phone: 604-871-1890 or toll free 1-800-663-9163 ext. 1890 fax: 604-871-2287 email: lolver@bctf.ca

8. Keep a copy of all forms completed. Log dates and subject of appointments and conversations with the employer, WCB, and all medical practitioners.

Worker Responsibilities

As a worker, you must:

• Be alert to hazards. Report them immediately to your supervisor or employer.
• Follow safe work procedures and act safely in the workplace at all times.
• Use the protective clothing, devices, and equipment provided. Be sure to wear them properly.
• Co-operate with joint occupational health and safety committees, worker health and safety representatives, WorkSafeBC prevention officers, and anybody with health and safety duties.
• Get treatment quickly should an injury happen on the job and tell the health care provider that the injury is work-related.
• Follow the treatment advice of health care providers.
• Return to work safely after an injury by modifying your duties and not immediately starting with your full, regular responsibilities.
• Never work under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any other substance, or if you're overly tired.

Employer Responsibilities

• Establish a valid occupational health and safety program.
• Train your employees to do their work safely and provide proper supervision.
• Provide supervisors with the necessary support and training to carry out health and safety responsibilities.
• Ensure adequate first aid equipment, supplies, and trained attendants are on site to handle injuries.
• Regularly inspect your workplace to make sure everything is working properly.
• Fix problems reported by workers.
• Transport injured workers to the nearest location for medical treatment.
• Report all injuries to WorkSafeBC that required medical attention.
• Investigate incidents where workers are injured, or equipment is damaged.
• Submit the necessary forms to WorkSafeBC.

• Identify situations that may be unhealthy or unsafe for workers, and advise on effective systems for responding to those situations.
• Consider, and promptly deal with complaints relating to the health and safety of workers.
• Consult with workers and the employer on issues related to occupational health and safety, and the occupational environment.
• Make recommendations to the employer and the workers for the improvement of the occupational health and safety, and the occupational environment of workers.
• Make recommendations to the employer on educational programs promoting the health and safety of workers and compliance with OHS provisions (Part 3) of the Workers Compensation Act and the regulations, and to monitor their effectiveness.
• Advise the employer on programs and policies required under the regulations for the workplace, and to monitor their effectiveness.
• Advise the employer on proposed changes to the workplace, including significant proposed changes to equipment and machinery, or the work processes that may affect the health or safety of workers.
• Ensure that accident investigations and regular inspections are carried out as required.
• Participate in inspections, investigations and inquiries as provided in Part 3 of the Workers Compensation Act and Part 3 of the Regulation.

In workplaces where a worker health and safety representative is required, the representative has the same duties and functions as a joint committee, to the extent practicable.

Bullying and Harassment falls under Workplace Conduct in the OHS regulations.

A worker is bullied and harassed when someone takes an action that he or she knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause that worker be humiliated or intimidated. When an employer or supervisor takes reasonable action to manage and direct workers, it is not bullying and harassment.

Examples of behaviour or comments that might constitute bullying and harassment include:

• verbal aggression or insults
• calling someone derogatory names
• harmful hazing or initiation practices
• vandalizing personal belongings
• spreading malicious rumours.

Reporting Bullying and Harassment

• If you are a worker and you have witnessed or experienced bullying and harassment in your workplace, you must report it to your employer.
• If your employer has not taken reasonable steps to address the incident, you can call the Prevention Information Line to contact an officer to discuss the incident. If the matter is still not resolved after.
• If your employer does not have bullying and harassment policies and procedures or has not taken reasonable steps to address the incident, contact the Prevention Information Line at 604-276-3100 (1-888-621-7233 toll free) and speak with a prevention officer.

After Reporting the Incident

After reporting the incident to your employer and speaking with a prevention officer, you may submit a Bullying and Harassment Questionnaire, which a prevention officer will then review to determine whether or not to make further inquiries.

Workers have the right to refuse unsafe work.

• If you have reasonable cause to believe that performing a job or task puts you or someone else at risk, you must not perform the job or task.
• You must immediately notify your supervisor or employer, who will then take the appropriate steps to determine if the work is unsafe and remedy the situation.
• As a worker, you have the right to refuse to perform a specific job or task you believe is unsafe without being disciplined by your employer.
• Your employer or supervisor may temporarily assign a new task to you, at no loss in pay.

Refusal of unsafe work is one of the four basic rights of all workers

Refusal of Unsafe Work Regulations:

3.12 Procedure for refusal

1. A person must not carry out or cause to be carried out any work process or operate or cause to be operated any tool, appliance or equipment if that person has reasonable cause to believe that to do so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person.
2. A worker who refuses to carry out a work process or operate a tool, appliance or equipment pursuant to subsection (1) must immediately report the circumstances of the unsafe condition to his or her supervisor or employer.
3. A supervisor or employer receiving a report made under subsection (2) must immediately investigate the matter and
   1. ensure that any unsafe condition is remedied without delay, or
   2. if in his or her opinion the report is not valid, must so inform the person who made the report.
4. If the procedure under subsection (3) does not resolve the matter and the worker continues to refuse to carry out the work process or operate the tool, appliance or equipment, the supervisor or employer must investigate the matter in the presence of the worker who made the report and in the presence of
   1. a worker member of the joint committee,
   2. a worker who is selected by a trade union representing the worker, or
   3. if there is no joint committee or the worker is not represented by a trade union, any other reasonably available worker selected by the worker.
5. If the investigation under subsection (4) does not resolve the matter and the worker continues to refuse to carry out the work process or operate the tool, appliance or equipment, both the supervisor, or the employer, and the worker must immediately notify an officer, who must investigate the matter without undue delay and issue whatever orders are deemed necessary.

3.13 No prohibited action

1. A worker must not be subject to prohibited action as defined in section 47 of the Workers Compensation Act because the worker has acted in compliance with section 3.12 or with an order made by an officer.
2. Temporary assignment to alternative work at no loss in pay to the worker until the matter in section 3.12 is resolved is deemed not to constitute prohibited action. [Amended by B.C. Reg. 279/2019, effective April 6, 2020.]

Note:The prohibition against prohibited action is established in the Workers Compensation Act Part 2, Division 6, sections 47 through 50.

When considering how to reduce the risk, there's a certain order you should follow. This is called the hierarchy of controls. It's important to follow the hierarchy, as shown below, rather than start with the easiest control measures. While the controls are listed in order of effectiveness, all four types of controls should be considered. They often work best in combination.

Elimination or substitution

• Eliminating the hazard completely is always the first choice. Substitution involves replacing the material or process with a less hazardous one.

Engineering controls

• If you can't eliminate the hazards or substitute safer alternatives, engineering controls are the next best options. These involve using work equipment or other means to prevent workers from being exposed to a hazard.

Administrative controls

• Administrative controls involve identifying and implementing safe work procedures so your workers can perform their job duties safely. The findings of your risk assessment will form the basis of these safe work procedures.

Personal protective equipment and clothing

• Using personal protective equipment is another important control to protect workers. For example, while working with toxic chemicals may be necessary in certain workplaces such as laboratories, the use of PPE such as protective eyewear and gloves will help to reduce the exposure risk.

Employers are responsible for immediately conducting an investigation for any incident involving:

• Injury requiring medical treatment
• Minor injury, or no injury, but had the potential for causing serious injury
• Serious injury to a worker or a worker's death.

Investigation Stages

Preliminary Investigation

• A preliminary investigation is an opportunity for employers to identify any unsafe conditions, acts, or procedures that must be addressed so work can resume safely until a full investigation has been completed.
• Employers must complete a preliminary investigation and accompanying report within 48 hours of an incident.

Interim Corrective Actions

• During the period between the incident and the conclusion of the full investigation, an employer is responsible for taking all actions reasonably necessary to prevent the incident from happening again .If an employer can identify only some of the unsafe conditions, acts, or procedures that significantly contributed to the incident, interim corrective actions may include a full or partial shutdown of the worksite, removal of equipment, or reassignment of workers to other duties.

Full Investigation

• A full investigation is about determining an incident's cause or causes. This involves carefully analyzing the facts and circumstances to identify the underlying factors that led to the incident.
• Key questions to ask include:
  • What factors made the unsafe conditions, act, or procedures possible?
  • Are there any health and safety deficiencies in my management system or processes?
  • A full investigation and report must be completed within 30 days of the incident.

Final Corrective Actions

• Once a full investigation has been completed, as an employer you must prepare a corrective action report that describes the unsafe conditions that led to the incident, what corrective action is necessary, and the steps you and your organization will take to implement those actions.

Division 6 Employer Accident Reporting and Investigations

68 Immediate notice of certain accidents

1. An employer must immediately notify the Board of the occurrence of any accident that
   1. resulted in serious injury to or the death of a worker,
   2. involved a major structural failure or collapse of a building, bridge, tower, crane, hoist, temporary construction support system or excavation,
   3. involved the major release of a hazardous substance,
   4. involved a fire or explosion that had a potential for causing serious injury to a worker, or
   5. was an incident required by regulation to be reported.
2. Except as otherwise directed by an officer of the Board or a peace officer, a person must not disturb the scene of an accident that is reportable under subsection (1) except so far as is necessary to
   1. attend to persons injured or killed,
   2. prevent further injuries or death, or
   3. protect property that is endangered as a result of the accident.

69 Incidents that must be investigated

1. An employer must conduct a preliminary investigation under section 71 and a full investigation under section 72 respecting any accident or other incident that
   1. is required to be reported under section 68,
   2. resulted in injury to a worker requiring medical treatment,
   3. did not involve injury to a worker, or involved only minor injury not requiring medical treatment, but had a potential for causing serious injury to a worker, or
   4. was an incident required by regulation to be investigated.
2. Subsection (1) does not apply in the case of a vehicle accident occurring on a public street or highway.

70 Investigation process

1. An investigation required under this Division must be carried out by persons knowledgeable about the type of work involved and, if they are reasonably available, with the participation of the employer or a representative of the employer and a worker representative.
2. For the purposes of subsection (1), the participation of the employer or a representative of the employer and a worker representative includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:
   1. viewing the scene of the incident with the persons carrying out the investigation
   2. providing advice to the persons carrying out the investigation respecting the methods used to carry out the investigation, the scope of the investigation or any other aspect of the investigation
   3. other activities, as prescribed by the Board.
3. The employer must make every reasonable effort to have available for interview by a person conducting the investigation, or by an officer, all witnesses to the incident and any other persons whose presence might be necessary for a proper investigation of the incident.
4. The employer must record the names, addresses and telephone numbers of persons referred to in subsection (3).

71 Preliminary investigation, report and follow-up action

1. An employer must, immediately after the occurrence of an incident described in section 69, undertake a preliminary investigation to, as far as possible,
   1. identify any unsafe conditions, acts or procedures that significantly contributed to the incident, and
   2. if unsafe conditions, acts or procedures are identified under paragraph (a) of this subsection, determine the corrective action necessary to prevent, during a full investigation under section 72, the recurrence of similar incidents.
2. The employer must ensure that a report of the preliminary investigation is
   1. prepared in accordance with the policies of the board of directors,
   2. completed within 48 hours of the occurrence of the incident,
   3. provided to the Board on request of the Board, and
   4. as soon as practicable after the report is completed, either
      1. provided to the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable, or
      2. if there is no joint committee or worker health and safety representative, posted at the workplace.
3. Following the preliminary investigation, the employer must, without undue delay, undertake any corrective action determined to be necessary under subsection (1)(b).
4. If the employer takes corrective action under subsection (3), the employer, as soon as practicable, must
   1. prepare a report of the action taken, and
   2. either
      1. provide the report to the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable, or
      2. if there is no joint committee or worker health and safety representative, post the report at the workplace.

72 Full investigation, report and follow-up action

1. An employer must, immediately after completing a preliminary investigation under section 71, undertake a full investigation to, as far as possible,
   1. determine the cause or causes of the incident investigated under section 71,
   2. identify any unsafe conditions, acts or procedures that significantly contributed to the incident, and
   3. if unsafe conditions, acts or procedures are identified under paragraph (b) of this subsection, determine the corrective action necessary to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.
2. The employer must ensure that a report of the full investigation is
   1. prepared in accordance with the policies of the board of directors,
   2. submitted to the Board within 30 days of the occurrence of the incident, and
   3. within 30 days of the occurrence of the incident, either
      1. provided to the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable, or
      2. if there is no joint committee or worker health and safety representative, posted at the workplace.
3. The Board may extend the time period, as the Board considers appropriate, for submitting a report under subsection (2)(b) or (c).
4. Following the full investigation, the employer must, without undue delay, undertake any corrective action determined to be necessary under subsection (1)(c).
5. If the employer takes corrective action under subsection (4), the employer, as soon as practicable, must
   1. prepare a report of the action taken, and
   2. either
      1. provide the report to the joint committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable, or
      2. if there is no joint committee or worker health and safety representative, post the report at the workplace.

73 Employer or supervisor must not attempt to prevent reporting

An employer or supervisor must not, by agreement, threat, promise, inducement, persuasion or any other means, seek to discourage, impede or dissuade a worker of the employer, or a dependent of the worker, from reporting any of the following to the Board:

1. an injury or allegation of injury, whether or not the injury occurred or is compensable under the compensation provisions
2. an illness, whether or not the illness exists or is an occupational disease compensable under the compensation provisions
3. a death, whether or not the death is compensable under the compensation provisions
4. a hazardous condition or allegation of a hazardous condition in any work to which the OHS provisions.

1. Check if you are eligible

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3. Request an appeal