Health and safety committees and representatives

A joint health and safety committee brings workers and management together to identify hazards, recommend improvements and take part in inspections and investigations. Smaller workplaces usually need a health and safety representative instead. Provincial laws set when each is required, how members are chosen, what training they need and what they do. Done well, they are one of the most practical ways to get workers' knowledge into the safety program.

When they are required

Thresholds are based on the number of workers and differ by province. As a general guide:

The rules include details on how workers are counted, how long the work must last, multi-site employers, construction projects and exemptions. Federally regulated workplaces follow the Canada Labour Code. Always check the current requirements for your province before relying on these numbers.

Membership

A joint committee has worker members and employer members. In general:

• At least half the members are workers who do not exercise managerial functions.
• Worker members are chosen by workers, or by their union where there is one, not appointed by management.
• There are co-chairs, one from each side.
• Provinces set a minimum number of members and rules for terms of office.

Ontario also requires certified members, at least one from each side on most committees, who have completed a specific certification training program. Alberta and BC set their own training requirements for committee members and representatives.

What committees and representatives do

• Receive and address health and safety concerns and complaints from workers.
• Take part in hazard identification and in regular workplace inspections.
• Participate in investigations of serious incidents and work refusals.
• Make written recommendations to the employer, which the employer must respond to within a set time.
• Advise on the health and safety program, training and policies.
• Promote health and safety in the workplace.

They do not replace the employer's responsibility. The employer remains responsible for safety; the committee is an advisory and participatory body.

Representatives in smaller workplaces

A health and safety representative carries out many of the same functions as a committee on a smaller scale: taking part in inspections, raising concerns, participating in investigations and making recommendations. Because one person is doing the work of a whole committee, it helps to give them a clear description of the role, protected time to do it, the training your province requires, and a direct line to someone in management who can act on what they find. Where workers are spread across shifts or sites, consider how the representative will hear from people they rarely see.

Employer obligations

• Establish the committee or designate the representative as required
• Provide the required training to members and representatives
• Allow time to attend meetings, inspections and training, with pay
• Give them access to information they need, such as hazard assessments and incident reports
• Respond in writing to recommendations within the required time
• Post the names of members and minutes where workers can see them
• Keep records of meetings and recommendations

Making a committee effective

Meet regularly with an agenda

Provinces set a minimum meeting frequency, often quarterly or more often for some committees. Use a standing agenda: old business, inspection findings, incidents and near misses, worker concerns, recommendations, new business.

Follow up

Track each recommendation and action item to completion. A committee that raises the same issue meeting after meeting without progress loses credibility with workers.

Inspect with purpose

Rotate inspection areas, use checklists tied to real hazards, and talk to workers during inspections, not just look at conditions.

Give it real input

Involve the committee before decisions on new equipment, processes and procedures, not after. Their input is most useful when it can still change the outcome.

Write recommendations that can be acted on

A recommendation is the committee's most formal tool, and it works best when it is specific. Each one should say what the problem is, what evidence the committee has, what it recommends, and by when.

A typical case

In a commercial building with a small in-house maintenance team, the health and safety representative hears from two technicians that the ladder to a rooftop hatch has a loose rung and no way to hold the hatch open. The representative inspects it with the building manager, photographs the problem and puts a written recommendation to the employer: take the ladder out of use until repaired, fit a hatch hold-open device and a grab bar, and add the roof access to the inspection checklist. The employer replies in writing within the required time, agreeing to the repair and the hold-open device and committing to look at a guardrail around the hatch. The representative tracks the work, confirms it is done, and tells the technicians at the next toolbox talk. See ladder inspection checklist for what that check should cover.

Meeting minutes should record

• Date, attendees and whether quorum was met
• Concerns raised and by whom (or anonymously)
• Inspection and incident findings reviewed
• Recommendations made, and replies received
• Open action items with owners and dates

How ehZee can help

ehZee helps employers set up committees and representative roles, write terms of reference, and build inspection and recommendation processes into the safety program. See safety program development and review, and our overview of Alberta OHS basics.

Common questions