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

SCHEDULE II(Sections 18.1 and 18.18)

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• SOR/98-456, s. 1

PART XIXHazard Prevention Program

Hazard Prevention Program

• 19.1 (1) The employer shall, in consultation with and with the participation of the policy committee, or, if there is no policy committee, the work place committee or the health and safety representative, develop, implement and monitor a program for the prevention of hazards, including ergonomics-related hazards, in the work place that is appropriate to the size of the work place and the nature of the hazards and that includes the following components:

  • (a) an implementation plan;

  • (b) a hazard identification and assessment methodology;

  • (c) hazard identification and assessment;

  • (d) preventive measures;

  • (e) employee training; and

  • (f) a program evaluation.

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2009-84, s. 2]

Implementation Plan

• 19.2 (1) The employer shall

  • (a) develop an implementation plan that specifies the time frame for each phase of the development and implementation of the prevention program;

  • (b) monitor the progress of the implementation of the preventive measures; and

  • (c) review the time frame of the implementation plan regularly and, as necessary, revise it.

• (2) In implementing the prevention program, the employer shall ensure that ergonomics-related hazards are identified and assessed and that they are eliminated or reduced, if feasible, as required by subsection 19.5(1) and that any person assigned to identify and assess ergonomics-related hazards has the necessary instructions and training.

Hazard Identification and Assessment Methodology

• 19.3 (1) The employer shall develop a hazard identification and assessment methodology, including an identification and assessment methodology for ergonomics-related hazards, taking into account the following documents and information:

  • (a) any hazardous occurrence investigation reports;

  • (b) first aid records and minor injury records;

  • (c) work place health protection programs;

  • (d) any results of work place inspections;

  • (e) any employee reports made under paragraph 126(1)(g) or (h) of the Act or under section 15.3;

  • (f) any government or employer reports, studies and tests concerning the health and safety of employees;

  • (g) any reports made under the Safety and Health Committees and Representatives Regulations;

  • (h) the record of hazardous substances; and

  • (i) any other relevant information, including ergonomics-related information.

• (2) The hazard identification and assessment methodology shall include

  • (a) the steps and time frame for identifying and assessing the hazards;

  • (b) the keeping of a record of the hazards; and

  • (c) a time frame for reviewing and, if necessary, revising the methodology.

Hazard Identification and Assessment

19.4 The employer shall identify and assess the hazards in the work place, including ergonomics-related hazards, in accordance with the methodology developed under section 19.3 taking into account

• (a) the nature of the hazard;

• (a.1) in the case of ergonomics-related hazards, all ergonomics-related factors such as

  • (i) the physical demands of the work activities, the work environment, the work procedures, the organization of the work and the circumstances in which the work activities are performed, and

  • (ii) the characteristics of materials, goods, persons, animals, things and work spaces and the features of tools and equipment;

• (b) the employees’ level of exposure to the hazard;

• (c) the frequency and duration of employees’ exposure to the hazard;

• (d) the effects, real or apprehended, of the exposure on the health and safety of employees;

• (e) the preventive measures in place to address the hazard;

• (f) any employee reports made under paragraph 126(1)(g) or (h) of the Act or under section 15.3; and

• (g) any other relevant information.

Preventive Measures

• 19.5 (1) The employer shall, in order to address identified and assessed hazards, including ergonomics-related hazards, take preventive measures to address the assessed hazard in the following order of priority:

  • (a) the elimination of the hazard, including by way of engineering controls which may involve mechanical aids, equipment design or redesign that take into account the physical attributes of the employee;

  • (b) the reduction of the hazard, including isolating it;

  • (c) the provision of personal protective equipment, clothing, devices or materials; and

  • (d) administrative procedures, such as the management of hazard exposure and recovery periods and the management of work patterns and methods.

• (2) As part of the preventive measures, the employer shall develop and implement a preventive maintenance program in order to avoid failures that could result in a hazard to employees.

• (3) The employer shall ensure that any preventive measure shall not in itself create a hazard and shall take into account the effects on the work place.

• (4) The preventive measures shall include steps to address

  • (a) newly identified hazards in an expeditious manner; and

  • (b) ergonomics-related hazards that are identified when planning implementation of change to the work environment or to work duties, equipment, practices or processes.

• (5) The employer shall ensure that any person assigned to implement ergonomics-related prevention measures has the necessary instruction and training.

Employee Training

• 19.6 (1) The employer shall provide each employee with health and safety training, including training relating to ergonomics, which shall include the following:

  • (a) the hazard prevention program implemented in accordance with this Part to prevent hazards applicable to the employee, including the hazard identification and assessment methodology and the preventive measures taken by the employer;

  • (b) the nature of the work place and the hazards associated with it;

  • (c) the employee’s duty to report under paragraphs 126(1)(g) and (h) of the Act and under section 15.3; and

  • (d) an overview of the Act and these Regulations.

• (2) The employer shall provide training to an employee

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

  • (b) shortly before the employee is assigned a new activity or exposed to a new hazard.

• (3) The employer shall review the employee training program, 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.

• (4) Each time training is provided to an employee, the employee shall acknowledge in writing that they received it and the employer shall acknowledge in writing that they provided it.

• (5) The employer shall keep a paper or electronic record of the training provided to each employee for a period of two years after the employee ceases to be exposed to a hazard.

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 XXRegular Rate of Wages

• 20.1 (1) For the purposes of section 146.5 of the Act, the regular rate of wages of an employee who is paid on a basis other than an hourly rate is calculated or determined in accordance with this section.

• (2) Subject to subsections (4) to (6), if the employee worked for at least one hour during the four-week period preceding a week in which the employee attends the appeal proceeding as a party or in response to a summons by the Board, the employee’s regular rate of wages for that week is calculated by dividing the wages that the employee earned in that period by the hours that they worked during the same period, excluding overtime hours.

• (3) Subject to subsections (4) to (6), if the employee did not work for at least one hour in the period referred to in subsection (2) but did work for at least one hour in the preceding four-week period, their regular rate of wages is calculated using the formula set out in subsection (2) but in respect of the preceding four-week period.

• (4) Subject to subsections (5) and (6), if the employee is paid, in whole or in part, on a commission basis and the employee has completed at least 12 weeks of continuous employment for their employer, the employee’s regular rate of wages for the week in which the employee attends the appeal proceeding as a party or in response to a summons by the Board is calculated by dividing the amount of wages that they earned in the 12-week period preceding that week by the number of hours that the employee worked during that period, excluding overtime hours.

• (5) Subject to subsection (6), if a collective agreement that is binding on the employee and employer sets out a regular rate of wages that is applicable to the employee, or a method for calculating it, that rate, or the rate calculated following that method, is the employee’s regular rate of wages.

• (6) In the following circumstances, an employee’s regular rate of wages is the minimum wage rate referred to in Part III of the Act:

  • (a) the employee’s regular rate of wages cannot be calculated or determined in accordance with any of subsections (2) to (5) because the employer is not required, under paragraph 24(2)(d) of the Canada Labour Standards Regulations, to keep records of hours worked by the employee each day and the employer cannot otherwise determine the number of hours that the employee worked during the applicable period; or

  • (b) the employee’s regular rate of wages, as calculated or determined in accordance with any of subsections (2) to (5), is less than that minimum wage rate.

• (7) For the purposes of subsections (2) to (4), vacation pay, general holiday pay, personal leave pay, pay for leave for victims of family violence, bereavement leave pay, overtime pay and pay received under section 146.5, subsection 205(2) or 251.12(5) or section 288 of the Act are not taken into account in the calculation of wages earned.

• (8) For the purposes of this section, week means the period between midnight on Saturday and midnight on the immediately following Saturday.