Alberta Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committees and Health and Safety Representatives

Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation requires employers do everything they reasonably can to protect the health and safety of their employees.

This means:

• ensuring your workers have the skills and training needed to do their jobs in a healthy and safe manner
• providing competent supervisors
• preventing violence and harassment in the workplace
• informing your workers of all the health and safety hazards at the job site
• setting up safe work practices and ensuring these practices are followed
• providing safety equipment and training
• properly labelling and storing dangerous chemicals
• investigating serious injuries and incidents
• investigating potentially serious incidents (PSI)
• working with the health and safety committee or representative
• meeting  OHS and Employment Standards Code requirements

Joint Work Site Health and Safety Committees and  Health and Safety Representatives

 An employer shall establish a joint work site health and safety committee: 

(a)    if the employer employs 20 or more workers and work is expected to last 90 days or more, or
(b)    at any other work site designated by a Director.

Designation of health and safety representative

Unless a Director approves an alternative measure to ensure the health and safety of workers, an employer shall designate a worker appointed or selected under subsection (2) as a health and safety representative

(a)    if the employer employs 5 to 19 workers and work is expected to last 90 days or more, or
(b)    at any other work site designated by a Director

Duties of a joint work site health and safety committee

(a)   the receipt, consideration and disposition of concerns and complaints respecting the health and safety of workers;
(b)   participation in the identification of hazards to workers or other persons arising out of or in connection with activities at the work site;
(c)   the development and promotion of measures to protect the health and safety of persons at the work site and checking the effectiveness of such measures;
(d)   cooperation with an officer exercising duties under this Act, the regulations and the OHS code;
(e)   the development and promotion of programs for education and information concerning health and safety;
(f)    the making of recommendations to the employer, prime contractor or owner respecting the health and safety of workers;
(g)   the inspection of the work site at regular intervals;
(h)   the participation in investigations of serious injuries and incidents at the work site in accordance with section 40;
(i)    the maintenance of records in connection with the receipt and disposition of concerns and complaints and the attendance to other matters relating to the duties of the committee;
(j)    such other duties as may be specified in this Act, the regulations and the OHS code.

Duties of a health and safety representative

The health and safety representative shall, in cooperation with a representative of the employer, perform the same duties, with any necessary modifications, as set out for the joint work site health and safety committees in section 19.

Learn more about how Able Audit safety inspection features can you help you perform and manage inspections, distribute reports and manage action items.