Many basic elements (e.g., rights and responsibilities of workers, responsibilities of employers, supervisors, etc.) are similar in all the jurisdictions across Canada. However, the details of the occupational health and safety (OH&S) legislation and how the laws are enforced vary from one jurisdiction to another. In addition, provisions in the regulations may be 'mandatory', 'discretionary' or 'as directed by the Minister'.
General responsibilities of governments for occupational health and safety include:
Employees responsibilities include the following:
Employees have the following three basic rights:
The manager or supervisor must:
Managers and supervisors act on behalf of the employer, and hence have the responsibility to meet the duties of the employer as specified in the Act for the work they (the managers and supervisors) direct.
An employer must:
Generally, legislation in different jurisdictions across Canada state that health and safety committees must:
More details about these committees are in the Health & Safety Committees Section on this site.
The role of health and safety committees can include to:
An employee can refuse work if he/she believes that the situation is unsafe to either himself/herself or his/her co-workers. When a worker believes that a work refusal should be initiated, then
The legislation holds employers responsible to protect employee health and safety. Enforcement is carried out by inspectors from the government department responsible for health and safety in each jurisdiction. In some serious cases, charges may also be laid by police or crown attorneys under Section 217.1 of the Canada Criminal Code (also known as the 'Westray Bill' or 'Bill C-45'). This section imposes a legal duty on employers and those who direct work to take reasonable measures to protect employees and public safety. If this duty is 'wantonly' or recklessly disregarded and bodily harm or death results, an organization or individual could be charged with criminal negligence.
If you have specific concerns about what regulations require employers and workers to do, you should consult local authorities in your jurisdiction. This is especially true if your questions deal with the content, interpretation, compliance and enforcement of the legislation, and how it applies in your own workplace situation.
We have provided referrals in the OSH Answers document 'Canadian Government Departments Responsible for OH&S'.
The right of the employer to supervise the work of the employee is derived from the Employment Contracts Act and collective agreements.
In practice, the employer’s unilateral right of supervision is limited by the applicable collective agreement and the employee’s personal employment contract. For instance, working hours arrangements for the sector may be specified in quite some detail in the collective agreement, and the job duties of an individual employee may be described in the employment contract.
The employer’s right to direct is not unlimited. The employer cannot require an employee to act contrary to law or good conduct. For instance, an employee cannot be required to drive over the speed limit or to compromise good auditing practice when auditing accounts.
An employee can also not be required to perform work in which shortcomings in occupational safety and health put his/her life or health or those of other employees at risk. The employer is also required to treat employees equally and non-discriminatingly.
The employer is responsible for supervising work under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, but limitations to supervision are in place to protect employee privacy. For instance, there are restrictions on the handling of employees’ health information at the workplace and technological surveillance.
Employees are required to do their work diligently and to follow the employer’s instructions. Employees are also under a loyalty obligation, which includes the requirement not to disclose any information that might harm the employer and a prohibition on working for a competitor.
If an employee neglects his/her job duties, the employer may issue a warning. Repeated negligence may constitute grounds for terminating the employment relationship.
Employers must ensure that their employees receive certain basic employmentrights. These rights are governed by detailed employment legislation. Ifyou employ people or are setting up a business that will employ people, youneed to be familiar with your responsibilities and your employees’ rights. Inthis document, we focus on your duties to your employees.
Employers engage people on contracts of service or contractsfor services:
The distinction between these types of contract can sometimes be unclear.But the type of contract can have serious implications for the employer andemployee in matters such as employment protection legislation, taxation andsocial welfare.
You can find more information in our documents on different types ofemployment, part-timeworkers, agencyworkers and workerson fixed-term or specified purpose contracts.
Intreo is a service from the Department of EmploymentAffairs and Social Protection that provides a single point of contact forall employment and income supports.
Its range of services for employers include:
If your employees are working for a regular wage or salary, theyautomatically have a contract of employment. The full contract of employmentdoes not have to be put in writing. However, your employee must receive awritten statement of 5 core terms of employment within thefirst 5 days of starting a job.
These core terms are:
You must provide the employee with a statement of the remaining terms within2 months of their starting work. You can get details in our document Contract ofemployment.
Most terms and conditions of employment are stated in a written contract ora company handbook. However, custom and practice in the workplace can alsoconstitute a term of employment (for example, a mid-morning break of 10minutes).
If you want to change a term or condition of employment, you must agree thischange with the employee. Under contract law, both the employer and theemployee must consent to changes in theterms of a contract. You can read more about contracts in our document: Contract ofemployment.
Most workers are entitled to be paid a minimum wage of €9.80per hour. However, there are some exceptions to this, such as apprentices,people aged under 18 and people employed by close relatives. You must give youremployees payslips. Theseshow their wages and any deductions that have been made.
You are responsible for ensuring that your employees are given adequaterest. The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 sets down the rules governingmaximum working hours anddaily and weeklyrest breaks.
Nearly all employees are entitled to annualleave and publicholidays, from the time they start work. Most employees are entitled to 4weeks’ paid annual leave for each leave year. Part-time workers’entitlement is generally calculated as 8% of the hours worked, up to a maximumof 4 working weeks for each leave year.
You can decide when your employees take annual leave, taking intoconsideration work and personal requirements. However, you should consult youremployee or their union in advance. Your employee can request pay for annualleave in advance. You must let employees take statutory protective leave, suchas maternity leave,paternity leave,health and safety leave, parental leave, adoptive leave, and carer’sleave. There is specific legislation setting down the rules for eachentitlement.
You are responsible for deducting the correct amount of tax, PRSI andUniversal Social Charge from your employees’ wages and remitting these toRevenue using the PAYE system. You also payemployer’s PRSI contributions. You must register as anemployer with Revenue. You can read the Employer’sGuide to PAYE and the changesto the PAYE system in 2019 on the Revenue website. You can get informationabout PRSI on welfare.ie
The JobsPlusscheme is an employer incentive which encourages and rewards employers whoemploy jobseekers on the Live Register. It aims to encourage employers andbusinesses to employ people who have been out of work for long periods. TheDepartment of Employment Affairs and Social Protection pays the incentivemonthly in arrears over a two-year period. It provides two levels of regularcash payments:
You must comply with your data protection obligations when collecting CVsand related information about individuals. Legal obligations set out inemployment law have not been affected by the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR). For example, you must continue to keep certain data, such as records ofemployees’ working hours and rates of pay. These employee records show thatyou are compliant with employment legislation.
You must allow access to these records during an inspection by officers fromthe WorkplaceRelations Commission. See workplacerelations.iefor a guide to how inspections are carried out.
Under data protection legislation, employees can find out what informationan organisation holds about them by making a request to accesspersonal data. You must have procedures in place to respond within 1 monthto personal data access requests from employees. This period can be extended bya further 2 months if requests are complex or numerous – see ‘General DataProtection Regulation’ below.
Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 employers must, as faras is reasonably practicable, ensure employees’ safety,health and welfare at work. To prevent workplace injuries and ill healthyou must: Dave buster's power card.
Every employer must carry out a risk assessment for their workplace. A riskassessment identifies any hazards in the workplace, assesses the risks arisingfrom such hazards and identifies the steps needed to deal with these risks. Youmust also prepare a safety statement based on the risk assessment. Tools tohelp you with these tasks are provided by the Health and Safety Authority. You must report anyaccident that results in an employee missing 3 consecutive days at work (notincluding the day of the accident) to the Health and Safety Authority.
The Workplace Relations Commission has a Codeof Practice: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. This states thatemployers should have written grievance and disciplinary procedures.Disciplinary procedures set out the stages and process you should follow whendealing with the alleged shortcomings of an employee.
Generally, the procedures allow for informal warnings, which escalate towritten warnings and ultimately to dismissal. Under the Unfair Dismissals Actsyoumust give employees written notice of these procedures before dismissal.
You must give your employees a copy of your grievance and disciplinaryprocedures within 28 days of their starting their contract of employment. Ifyou are considering dismissing an employee, you must follow fair procedures.These include giving your employee appropriate warnings, making them fullyaware of the allegations against them and giving them an opportunity to presenttheir side. You must also give them the opportunity to be represented in anydisciplinary procedures by, for example, a trade union official or otherrepresentative.
If you do dismiss an employee, you must be able to show you had fairgrounds for dismissal and followed fair procedures.
You can read about redundancy procedures in our document on closinga business.
If your business closes or you are reducing staff numbers, you may need tomake employees redundant. You may have to do this because there is a lack ofwork, or if you are reorganising the business, or due to the financial positionof the business. When making an employee redundant, you must follow certain procedures.
You can read more about redundancy in our redundancyoverview. You can also find information in our document on closingor selling a business.
The GeneralData Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force across the EU on 25 May2018. This regulation significantly increases employers’ obligations andresponsibilities in relation to how they collect, use and protect personaldata. You can read more about data protection law in our document to dataprotection in the workplace.
If you use CCTV in the workplace or monitor your employees’ use of email,internet and the phone, you can find useful information in our document on surveillancein the workplace. If your employees are working with children or vulnerableadults, they must be vetted by the Garda Síochána NationalVetting Bureau.