24 Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
Closing the Loop: Setting Up a Health & Safety System in Your Small Business
the employer
(Maybe you're known as the
owner, general manager or
the boss):
Comply with the law
Provide information,
instruction and
supervision to workers in
order to keep them safe
and protect them from
hazards in your workplace
Make sure that
equipment, materials and
protective equipment are
kept in good condition
Take all reasonable
precautions for the
protection of the worker
(this is called "due
diligence")
supervisors
Need to know the rules
(laws) covering the
workplace and follow
them
Need to know the hazards
specific to the workplace
and inform workers about
them
Make sure workers know
the procedures for
working safely and that
they follow them
Investigate and resolve
work refusals
Investigate incidents that
result in injury
Workers
Report hazards and
incidents/injuries
Follow safe working
procedures
Use the safety equipment
provided (the way it was
meant to be used)
Don't endanger
co-workers
Rights, Duties and Responsibilities
Health & Safety law guarantees three basic rights: the right to know, the right to participate and
the right to refuse unsafe work. Each of these rights will be explored in greater detail — the right
to know as it is entrenched in the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS);
the right to participate as it is understood in the context of Joint Health & Safety Committees/
Health & Safety Representatives; and the process for refusing unsafe work. For now, it's
important to understand that with each of these rights, comes responsibility.
Everyone has responsibility when it comes to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace:
All of these responsibilities represent the "action" part of "Health & Safety in Action".
