PRIORITY BULLETIN: SEPTEMBER 2010
TOPIC: H & S Rep vs. JHSC

When do you need a Health and Safety representative and when do you need a Joint Health and Safety Committee? We are hearing this question frequently.

A. Six (6) to nineteen (19) workers
In Ontario, where 6 to 19 workers are regularly employed in a workplace a Health and Safety Representative is required to be chosen by the workers to represent them. Health and Safety Representatives duties are listed in Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). See also Section 25 (OHSA).

B. Twenty (20) or more workers
In Ontario, where twenty or more workers are regularly employed in a workplace a Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) is required. One worker and one management member will be needed, as a minimum, for the committee. JHSC members need certification training. See Section 9 of the OHSA for this information.

Note that a JHSC may be needed if there is a designated substance in the workplace or the Ministry of Labour orders that a committee be formed.

C. Definition of “A Workplace”
In Section 1 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of Ontario a workplace is defined as "any land, premises, location or thing at, upon, in or near which a worker works".

It is important to know, and be sure you are correct about, what category your workplace falls into. You may be unintentionally training and guiding your workers in the wrong direction. Call Priority Health and Safety today for further information on the definition of “a workplace”.

Contact Priority Health & Safety today for more information.