New and Young Workers

A young worker is a person 15 to 24 years of age who performs work or supplies services for monetary compensation. The definition of worker in the Occupational Health and Safety Act includes volunteers or students who are working as interns, apprentices, etc. under a work experience or co-op program.

A new worker is a person of any age who has been on the job less than six months or has been reassigned to a new job. New workers can include:

Any new hire, either permanent or temporary, including supervisors with or without experience in the industry where they are working
Current workers who are assigned new jobs
Student workers, co-op placements, or apprentices.

Employers

Employers are responsible for ensuring that the workplace is healthy and safe and that workers are provided with the information, instruction, and supervision they need to protect themselves against potential hazards. [OHS Act, s. 25] This duty is especially important when dealing with new and young workers.

Employers should have systems in place to make sure that new and young workers are adequately trained and have received proper orientation. A system is also needed to effectively communicate health and safety information to employees.

The Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training Regulation requires employers to make sure that all of their workers have completed basic occupational health and safety awareness training. This training outlines the rights, roles, and responsibilities of workers.

Supervisors

Supervisors are responsible for making sure workers are never in danger. [OHS Act, s. 27] Supervisors must make sure that workers perform their tasks in the manner and with the protective devices, measures and procedures as required by the Act and regulations. They must tell workers about any possible danger to their health and safety on the job, make sure workers use and wear protective equipment or clothing, and provide written instructions when required about the measures and procedures taken for their protection.

Workers

Workers have the power to protect their health and safety with three rights under the Occupational Health and Safety Act:

Workers have the right to know about workplace health and safety hazards.
Workers have the right to make recommendations about health and safety.
Workers have the right to refuse work if they believe it endangers their health and safety or that of others.

Workers must also:

Work safely at all times. Follow company rules and Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations.
Wear any protective equipment or clothing as required by the employer or regulations.
Never remove or make ineffective any safety guard or protective equipment.
Report to the employer or supervisor any hazard or unsafe conditions in the workplace and any protective device that is missing or not working properly.
Report all incidents, and injuries or any violations of the law.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT

R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1

Part III DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND OTHER PERSONS

Section 25 Duties of employers

25. (1) An employer shall ensure that,

(a) the equipment, materials and protective devices as prescribed are provided;

(b) the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition;

(d) the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are used as prescribed; and

(e) a building, structure, or any part thereof, or any other part of a workplace, whether temporary or permanent, is capable of supporting any loads that may be applied to it,

(i) as determined by the applicable design requirements established under the version of the Building Code that was in force at the time of its construction,

(ii) in accordance with such other requirements as may be prescribed, or

(iii) in accordance with good engineering practice, if subclauses (i) and (ii) do not apply.

(2) Without limiting the strict duty imposed by subsection (1), an employer shall,

(a) provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker;

(b) in a medical emergency for the purpose of diagnosis or treatment, provide, upon request, information in the possession of the employer, including confidential business information, to a legally qualified medical practitioner and to such other persons as may be prescribed;

(d) acquaint a worker or a person in authority over a worker with any hazard in the work and in the handling, storage, use, disposal and transport of any article, device, equipment or a biological, chemical or physical agent;

(e) afford assistance and co-operation to a committee and a health and safety representative in the carrying out by the committee and the health and safety representative of any of their functions;

(f) only employ in or about a workplace a person over such age as may be prescribed;

(g) not knowingly permit a person who is under such age as may be prescribed to be in or about a workplace;

(h) take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker;

(i) post, in the workplace, a copy of this Act and any explanatory material prepared by the Ministry, both in English and the majority language of the workplace, outlining the rights, responsibilities and duties of workers;

(j) prepare and review at least annually a written occupational health and safety policy and develop and maintain a program to implement that policy;

(k) post at a conspicuous location in the workplace a copy of the occupational health and safety policy;

(l) provide to the committee or to a health and safety representative the results of a report respecting occupational health and safety that is in the employer's possession and, if that report is in writing, a copy of the portions of the report that concern occupational health and safety;

(m) advise workers of the results of a report referred to in clause (l) and, if the report is in writing, make available to them on request copies of the portions of the report that concern occupational health and safety; and

(n) notify a Director if a committee or a health and safety representative, if any, has identified potential structural inadequacies of a building, structure, or any part thereof, or any other part of a workplace, whether temporary or permanent, as a source of danger or hazard to workers.

(3) For the purposes of clause (2)(c), an employer may appoint himself or herself as a supervisor where the employer is a competent person.

(3.1) Any explanatory material referred to under clause(2) (i) may be published as part of the poster required under section 2 of the Employment Standards Act, 2000.

(4) Unless otherwise prescribed, clause (2) (j) does not apply with respect to a workplace at which five or fewer workers are regularly employed.

(5) Clause (2) (n) does not apply to an employer that owns the workplace.

[S.O. 2009, c. 23, s. 2; 2011, c. 1, Sch. 7, s. 2; 2011, c. 11, s. 9; 2017, c. 34, Sch. 30, s. 1; 2021, c. 34, Sch. 15, s. 4]

Section 27 Duties of supervisor

27. (1) A supervisor shall ensure that a worker,

(a) works in the manner and with the protective devices, measures and procedures required by this Act and the regulations; and

(b) uses or wears the equipment, protective devices or clothing that the worker's employer requires to be used or worn.

(2) Without limiting the duty imposed by subsection (1), a supervisor shall,

(a) advise a worker of the existence of any potential or actual danger to the health or safety of the worker of which the supervisor is aware;

(b) where so prescribed, provide a worker with written instructions as to the measures and procedures to be taken for protection of the worker; and

New and Young Workers

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT

Part III DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND OTHER PERSONS

Section 25 Duties of employers

Section 27 Duties of supervisor

CCOHS Resources

IHSA Resources

New and Young Workers

Summary

Legislation

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT

Part III DUTIES OF EMPLOYERS AND OTHER PERSONS

Section 25 Duties of employers

Section 27 Duties of supervisor

Resources

CCOHS Resources

IHSA Resources