Joint Worksite Health & Safety Committee / Representative FAQ
Who can a designated Health & Safety Representative be?
A Health and Safety Representative is someone who has been appointed or elected by the workers at the worksite as the health and safety designate to collaborate with the employer on health and safety activities.
A Health and Safety Representative can be selected by the employer should the workers at the worksite fail to appoint or elect a designate.
A Health and Safety Representative must be a full-time employee of the employer and shall not perform any supervisory or managerial functions. This also means an employer cannot hire a third-party consultant as their designated Health and Safety Representative. This means a person hired as safety personnel may be appointed as Health and Safety Representative, so long as they do not have authority as a supervisor or employer.
To meet Legislative requirements, a Health and Safety Representative is required for worksites employing between 5 and 19 people.
In the instance where multiple employers make up a worksite, the Prime Contractor will be responsible for designating a Health and Safety Representative. In the absence of a Prime Contractor, all employers, including self-employed persons, are expected to work together to establish a Health and Safety Representative.
Does everyone on the Health and Safety Committee need training?
All joint worksite health and safety committee members should receive training respective to their roles and responsibilities within the committee in order to function efficiently. This can be formal training or in-house/informal training.
Training is mandatory for a designated Health and Safety Representative and for the 2 Co-chairs on the Health and Safety Committee. These members are required to complete the on-line CCOHS introductory course as well as formal training from an approved provider. MHSA is an approved training provider for our Joint Worksite Health and Safety Committee and Representative training course.
Health and Safety Committee members, and Health and Safety Representatives, can individually request up to 16 hours of formal training per year of office.
Who needs to be a part of the Health & Safety Committee?
A committee must have no less than 4 members. A minimum of 50% of committee members have to be employees with no supervisory or managerial functions. When determining the size and make-up of the Health & Safety Committee, considerations should be made to accurately reflect the worksite including: departments, work shifts and occupations.
In the instance where multiple employers make up a worksite, the Prime Contractor will be responsible for determining representation and makeup of the Health & Safety Committee. In the absence of a Prime Contractor, all employers, including self-employed persons, are expected to work together to establish the Health & Safety Committee.
References
For more information visit the OHS websites below