Overview

During a provincial initiative from April 2016 to March 2017, Ministry of Labour inspectors:

Inspectors checked that employers were complying with the OHSA and its regulations. Inspectors visited new small business owners who were newly registered with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and were not previously visited by Ministry of Labour inspectors. The goals of the inspections were to:

  • raise awareness of key health and safety hazards at work
  • increase workplace compliance with the law
  • prevent injuries from unsafe work practices.

Background

In Ontario, small businesses represent 95% of all employers. They employ 28% of Ontario’s workers, many of whom may be vulnerable workers. Small businesses have been identified as a priority in Ontario’s Integrated Health and Safety Strategy.

The purpose of the year-long initiative was to promote and enforce the internal responsibility system (IRS) at new small businesses that have never had contact with the Ministry of Labour.

The workplace visits:

  • addressed administrative requirements of the OHSA
  • included a physical inspection of the workplace
  • were conducted in addition to regular workplace visits in which inspectors routinely enforce the IRS

Full report

Workplace inspection initiatives

Inspection initiatives are part of our Safe at Work Ontario compliance strategy. We announce to the public, in advance, that we will be doing either a blitz or initiative, although individual workplaces are not notified in advance.

The results of the initiatives are typically posted online. Inspectors' findings may impact the number and level of future inspections of individual workplaces.

Inspectors may also refer employers to health and safety associations for compliance assistance and training.

Initiative focus

Ministry of Labour inspectors visited small businesses across Ontario. In particular, they focused on small businesses:

  • with 50 or less workers
  • newly registered with Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB)
  • that had no prior contact with the Ministry of Labour

Inspectors visited small businesses from the following diverse sectors:

  • retail
  • restaurants
  • industrial services
  • wholesalers
  • food, beverage, and tobacco
  • wood and metal fabrication

Inspectors checked that:

  • employers had established, implemented and maintained the following elements of the IRS:
    • a health and safety policy, as well as a program to implement the policy
    • a health and safety representative and/or Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC), where required
    • posting requirements (e.g. OHSA, Health & Safety at Work poster, etc.)
  • employees had taken a mandatory basic occupational health and safety awareness training program
  • employers had identified and controlled hazards
  • non-compliance with the OHSA and its regulations was being addressed and remedied
  • vulnerable workers were aware of their OHSA rights

If they found violations under the OHSA or its regulations, inspectors took enforcement action, as appropriate, including:

  • writing orders to employers, supervisors and workers to require them to comply with legal requirements
  • requiring employers to provide information to an inspector
  • issuing stop work orders that required employers to comply with specified requirements before work could continue

Inspection activity summary

Visits to small businesses:

  • 3,045 field visits with 206 field visits in a support rolefootnote 2
  • 2,335 workplaces visited
  • 8,386 orders and requirements issued
    • 8,307 orders issued for a number of violations under the OHSA and its regulations, including 99 stop work orders
    • 79 requirements issued to provide an inspector with information related to the workplace
  • an average of 3.59 orders and requirements issued per workplace visited
  • an average of 2.75 orders and requirements issued per field visit

Most frequently issued orders

Occupational Health and Safety Act

There were 5,009 orders and requirements issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This represented 60% of the total orders and requirements issued. The top most frequently issued orders were due to employers’ failure to:

  • post, in the workplace, a copy of the OHSA and any explanatory material prepared by the Ministry of Labour, both in English and in the majority language of the workplace, outlining the rights, responsibilities and duties of workers [s. 25(2)(i)] – 832 orders or 9.9% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • prepare and review, at least annually, a written occupational health and safety policy, and develop and maintain a program to implement that policy [s. 25(2)(j)] – 425 orders or 5.1%
  • ensure equipment, materials and protective devices they provided are maintained in good condition [s. 25(1)(b)] – 378 orders or 4.5%
  • have a worker health and safety representative at the workplace [s. 8(1)] – 361 orders or 4.3%
  • take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of workers [s. 25(2)(h)] – 270 orders or 3.2%
  • ensure that a health and safety representative inspects the physical condition of the workplace at least once a month [s. 8(6)] – 219 orders or 2.6%

Most frequently issued orders under Part III.0.1 of the OHSA provisions for workplace violence and harassment

A total of 1,530 orders were issued during the initiative under the OHSA provisions for workplace violence and harassment. This represented more than 18% of all the orders and requirements issued during the initiative.

The top three most frequently issued orders involving workplace violence and harassment were due to employers’ failure to:

  • ensure a workplace’s violence and harassment policies were in a written form and posted in a conspicuous place [s. 32.0.1(2)] – 217  orders or 2.6% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • prepare a workplace violence policy [s. 32.0.1(a)] – 216  orders or 2.6%
  • prepare a workplace harassment policy [s. 32.0.1(b)] – 215  orders or 2.6%

Industrial Establishments Regulation

A total of 1,860  orders were issued under the Industrial Establishments Regulation during the initiative. The top three most frequently issued orders were due to employers’ failure to:

  • ensure a lifting device was examined by a competent person to determine its capability of handling the maximum load, as rated, and that a permanent record was being kept and signed by the person doing the examination [s. 51(1)(b)] – 212  orders or 2.5% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • provide an eyewash fountain where a worker was exposed to a potential eye injury due to contact with a biological or chemical substance [s. 124] – 185  orders or 2.2%
  • ensure a floor or other surface used by workers was kept free of obstructions, hazards, and accumulation of refuse, snow or ice, and that no finish or protective material  was likely to make the surface slippery [s. 11] – 170  orders or 2%

Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training Regulation

A total of 1,237  orders were issued under the Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training Regulation. This represented almost 15% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative. Almost all of the orders were issued for employers’ failure to:

  • ensure workers completed a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program [s. 1(1)] – 660  orders or 7.9% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • ensure supervisors completed a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program [s. 2(1)] – 533  orders or 6.4%

Conclusion and next steps

A majority of the orders issued reflect employers’ failure to support, develop and implement a self-reliant internal responsibility system (IRS).

The orders issued show a general lack of awareness and understanding of employers’ health and safety responsibilities under the OHSA and its regulations. This includes a failure to provide basic occupational health and safety awareness training for workers and supervisors.

Many workplaces also did not have the required policies and programs in place to address prevention of workplace violence and harassment.

The findings indicate the IRS must remain a core focus of every ministry inspection. Employers, supervisors, workers, JHSCs and health and safety representatives must continue to work together to identify and control hazards at workplaces.

Inspectors will continue to inspect workplaces for compliance with the OHSA and its regulations. They will also direct small business employers to:

The ministry, its health and safety association partners and the WSIB will continue to raise awareness among small businesses of their OHSA obligations by working with business organizations such as Chambers of Commerce and industry associations.

Ministry inspectors will continue to focus on hazards related to safe work practices.

Help for employers

Please contact our health and safety partners for more information on developing workplace health and safety programs, IRS resources, and identifying, preventing and controlling workplace hazards.