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Section 03

Workplace Health & Safety

What Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act actually requires of an employer. Why a safety program isn’t the same as being compliant. And the questions employers ask.

Jurisdiction
Ontario
For
SMB owners & managers
Knowledge base
10 sourced notes
Updated
June 2026

Workplace health and safety in Ontario is a shared legal duty. The Occupational Health and Safety Act puts it on the employer, the supervisor and the worker together. After something goes wrong, the legal test is whether you took every reasonable precaution to protect your workers.

The Act is built on the Internal Responsibility System. Everyone owns safety, from the owner down to the newest hire, each within what they control. Out of that flow the three rights every worker has: the right to know about the hazards in their work, the right to participate in health and safety through a representative or committee, and the right to refuse work they reasonably believe is unsafe. Your duties are what make those rights real. Above a headcount the Act sets, you must have a worker-side representative, and above a larger one, a full committee. The exact thresholds, deadlines and figures live in the statute and they change, so this page links out to them.

Workplace violence and harassment are health and safety duties too. Both are covered in depth on other pages. The mandatory written policies sit on our HR Policy & Compliance page, and the duty to investigate sits on Workplace Investigations. This page points you there rather than repeating them. What follows is what the law requires you to have, why a program on the shelf isn’t the same as being compliant, and the questions employers ask. Every point below links down to the sourced note behind it, and the statutory numbers link out to ontario.ca and the WSIB.

Ontario law

What the OHSA requires you to have

The primary OHSA duties and rights are the fixed points every Ontario employer is held to. Thresholds, deadlines and figures change, so each one links out to the current rule on ontario.ca.

  1. Verified

    The three worker rights

    Every worker has three rights under the OHSA. They hold the right to know about workplace hazards, the right to participate in health and safety, and the right to refuse work they reasonably believe is unsafe. The test is what the worker reasonably believes at the time, whether or not the danger is later proven. You cannot lawfully discipline a worker for properly exercising any of them.

    OHSA, ss. 43, 50 Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario)

    The right to refuse, and reprisal ›

  2. Verified

    The IRS structure

    Safety runs on the Internal Responsibility System. Everyone shares the duty, with workers and management at the same table. Once you regularly employ more than a few workers, your people must select a health and safety representative, and at a larger headcount a full Joint Health and Safety Committee. The Act sets both thresholds. You must answer their written recommendations in writing within the statutory window.

    OHSA, ss. 8–12 Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario)

    Representative vs. committee ›

  3. Verified

    The core duty

    On top of the specific rules, every employer must take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect a worker, and must provide the information, instruction and supervision workers need. Above the smallest workplaces you must also keep a written health and safety policy, reviewed at least once a year, with a program that carries it out. That open-ended catch-all is where most charges land.

    OHSA, ss. 25–26 Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario)

    Employer duties under the OHSA ›

General information about Ontario law, not legal advice.

Where programs fail

Why a safety program isn’t the same as being compliant

Most employers who get into trouble do have a safety program. None of what follows is a legal citation. This is where real programs come apart in practice. The live question is whether the system around the document actually runs. In safety the legal standard is <em>due diligence</em>. After an incident a Ministry inspector can arrive unannounced and order the work stopped, and a prosecution can follow, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o01#BK123">carrying substantial fines and jail exposure for individuals</a>. You are judged on whether you took every reasonable precaution, and you prove that with a documented, functioning system. Each of these is a way a real program still leaves you exposed.

  1. A safety program in name only

    Above the smallest workplaces the law requires a written health and safety policy and program. Many employers have one. It was bought as a template, signed once and filed. The Act then lays an open-ended duty on top of it: take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances. That duty is measured by what you actually do.

    Employer duties, and the catch-all ›

    Where it goes wrong A program nobody follows is the classic finding. Due diligence is judged on the working system rather than on a policy in the drawer: training delivered, hazards controlled, records kept.

  2. A committee that meets on paper only

    The representative or Joint Health and Safety Committee isn’t a formality. It inspects the workplace, can flag dangers, and makes written recommendations. When it does, you have a set number of days to respond in writing. You either accept a recommendation with a timetable or give your reasons.

    What a rep or committee actually does ›

    Where it goes wrong A committee that never actually meets, or a response deadline you let slide past, hollows out the Internal Responsibility System. Silence there is exactly what an inspector looks for.

  3. A work refusal handled by instinct

    A worker who reasonably believes the work is unsafe can refuse it, and a specific statutory process then starts. You investigate at once, with the worker and a worker-side representative present. The worker stays in a safe place nearby. If they still have reasonable grounds, a Ministry inspector is called in to decide.

    The right to refuse, step by step ›

    Where it goes wrong Skipping the joint investigation is a breach. So is quietly handing the task to the next worker without telling them about the refusal and why. Disciplining the worker who refused is a reprisal. If that is challenged, the burden flips to you to prove the real reason was something else.

  4. Hazards you assumed instead of assessed

    The duty runs to the hazards in the actual work. You identify them, then give workers the information, instruction and supervision to handle them. You also deliver the training the law requires, starting with basic awareness for every worker and every supervisor. Where hazardous materials are present, add hazard-specific training such as WHMIS, and keep the safety data sheets current and available.

    Hazardous materials, WHMIS & SDSs ›

    Where it goes wrong Treating training as a one-time orientation, missing the short window to train a new supervisor, or letting WHMIS data sheets go stale. An assessment you never really did, and controls you never checked, is the gap an incident finds first.

  5. An incident reported wrong, or too late

    When someone is killed or critically injured, you must notify an inspector immediately. You must also reach the committee or representative and the union, then file a written report. Lesser injuries, occupational illnesses and certain site incidents each have their own written-notice window. Reporting the injury to the WSIB is a separate duty on its own clock.

    Reporting deaths, injuries & incidents ›

    Where it goes wrong Treating the phone call as the whole job, tidying up the scene before the inspector clears it, or missing one of the notice deadlines. The verbal notice does not replace the written report. A thin report that skips the witnesses or the prevention steps is incomplete.

What a Ministry inspection, order, or prosecution actually involves ›

Verified

The test you’re judged on

After an incident the question is whether you took every precaution reasonable in the circumstances, which a policy on file does not answer. That standard is the OHSA’s due-diligence test, and the Act makes it your defence on the duties it covers. You prove you met it with a working, documented system.

OHSA, s. 25(2)(h) Occupational Health and Safety Act (Ontario)

Penalties & the due-diligence defence ›
Article Newman HR Partners with Infuse Compliance Systems Safety training Get your team’s safety training sorted Book a consultation
In safety the law never asks whether you have a binder. It asks whether you took every reasonable precaution. You answer that with a system people actually use, not a policy nobody’s read.
Frank Newman

Questions employers ask

Health & safety questions, answered

Do we need a health and safety representative or a full committee?

Headcount decides this, and the thresholds are set in the Act. Below a small number of workers you need neither. Once you regularly employ more than a few, your workers select a health and safety representative. At a larger headcount you must run a Joint Health and Safety Committee. It is jointly chaired, usually includes a certified member from each side, and meets on a set schedule. The exact numbers are in the OHSA, so confirm the current threshold for your size before you assume you are exempt.

Representative vs. committee, by size ›

What are the three rights workers have?

The right to know, the right to participate, and the right to refuse. The right to know means a worker must be told about the hazards in their work and trained to handle them. The right to participate means a voice in health and safety through a representative or committee. The right to refuse means a worker can stop work they reasonably believe is unsafe, by following the Act’s procedure. You cannot lawfully discipline a worker for properly using any of these rights.

The three rights and the refusal process ›

What do we do when a worker refuses unsafe work?

Follow the statutory steps, in order. The worker reports the refusal and stays in a safe place nearby. You investigate at once, with the worker and a worker-side representative present. If the worker still has reasonable grounds to believe the danger continues, either side has a Ministry inspector called in, and the inspector’s written decision governs. Do not put another worker on the task without telling them about the refusal and why. Do not discipline the worker who refused, which would be a reprisal.

The right to refuse, step by step ›

Is health and safety training mandatory?

Yes, and some of it applies to everyone. Basic occupational health and safety awareness training is required for every worker, and separately for every supervisor. A supervisor must complete it within a short window of starting supervisory work. On top of that sits hazard- and equipment-specific training, such as WHMIS where there are hazardous materials and working-at-heights for fall-hazard work, plus certification for committee members. The detailed requirements and timing are set out in O. Reg. 297/13. Delivering and documenting that training is a large part of how you show due diligence.

Basic OHS awareness training ›

What does due diligence mean, and how do we show it?

Due diligence is the legal standard the OHSA holds you to. It means taking every precaution reasonable in the circumstances to protect your workers. It is also the defence the Act gives you. For several of the core duties, an employer who proves it took every reasonable precaution can avoid conviction. A policy on a shelf will not do it. You show due diligence with a functioning, documented system: hazards assessed and controlled, training delivered and recorded, the committee meeting and its recommendations answered, incidents investigated and acted on.

The core duty and the reasonable-precaution test ›

What injuries do we have to report, and to whom?

Severity decides, and two systems apply. Under the OHSA, a death or critical injury means notifying a Ministry inspector immediately. You must also reach the committee or representative and the union, then file a written report. Lesser injuries, occupational illnesses and certain site incidents each carry their own written-notice deadline. Separately, you report a work injury that needs health care or time off to the WSIB on its own short clock. The exact timeframes are set by statute and change, so check the current OHSA and WSIB deadlines rather than working from memory.

Reporting deaths, injuries & incidents ›

How is WSIB different from OHSA?

They do opposite jobs. The OHSA is the prevention law. It sets the duties, the rights, the inspectors and the penalties that aim to stop injuries before they happen. The WSIB administers the workplace-injury insurance system after an injury happens, paying no-fault benefits to an injured worker regardless of who was at fault, funded by employer premiums. That is the historic bargain. Workers gave up the right to sue their employer for a workplace injury in exchange for guaranteed benefits. So a covered worker generally cannot take you to court. You still owe every OHSA duty, and reporting an injury to the WSIB is separate from your OHSA reporting.

WSIB coverage & the no-fault bargain ›

Sourced notes

Go deeper in the knowledge base

  1. Employer Duties Under OHSA: The Core Obligations

    Read the note ›

  2. JHSCs and Health and Safety Representatives: Who You Need and What They Do

    Read the note ›

  3. The Right to Refuse Unsafe Work: How It Works

    Read the note ›

  4. Reporting Deaths, Injuries and Other Workplace Incidents

    Read the note ›

  5. Workplace Coverage and the No-Fault Bargain

    Read the note ›

  6. What workplace health & safety training do Ontario employers need, and why does it matter?

    Read the note ›

Get it sorted

Not sure where your safety program stands?

Most safety binders are fine until the day something tests them, whether an inspection, a refusal or an injury, and then the gaps show. Maybe you inherited a template program, or you are not sure what the OHSA actually requires of you, or you want your team’s mandatory training delivered and documented properly. Let’s go through what you have and what is missing.

Book a consultation Or call 519-362-8352