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Workers Compensation Act - Excerpts and Summaries
Part 3 Division 3 - General Duties of Employers, Workers and Others
General duties of employers
115
(1) Every employer must
(a) ensure the health and safety of
(i) all workers working for that employer, and
(ii) any other workers present at a workplace at which that employer's work is being carried out, and
(b) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), an employer must
(a) remedy any workplace conditions that are hazardous to the health or safety of the employer's workers,
(b) ensure that the employer's workers
(i) are made aware of all known or reasonably foreseeable health or safety hazards to which they are likely to be exposed by their work,
(ii) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders, and
(iii) are made aware of their rights and duties under this Part and the regulations,
(c) establish occupational health and safety policies and programs in accordance with the regulations,
(d) provide and maintain in good condition protective equipment, devices and clothing as required by regulation and ensure that these are used by the employer's workers,
(e) provide to the employer's workers the information, instruction, training and supervision necessary to ensure the health and safety of those workers in carrying out their work and to ensure the health and safety of other workers at the workplace,
(f) make a copy of this Act and the regulations readily available for review by the employer's workers and, at each workplace where workers of the employer are regularly employed, post and keep posted a notice advising where the copy is available for review,
(g) consult and cooperate with the joint committees and worker health and safety representatives for workplaces of the employer, and
(h) cooperate with the Board, officers of the Board and any other person carrying out a duty under this Part or the regulations.
General duties of workers
116
(1) Every worker must
(a) take reasonable care to protect the worker's health and safety and the health and safety of other persons who may be affected by the worker's acts or omissions at work, and
(b) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a worker must
(a) carry out his or her work in accordance with established safe work procedures as required by this Part and the regulations,
(b) use or wear protective equipment, devices and clothing as required by the regulations,
(c) not engage in horseplay or similar conduct that may endanger the worker or any other person,
(d) ensure that the worker's ability to work without risk to his or her health or safety, or to the health or safety of any other person, is not impaired by alcohol, drugs or other causes,
(e) report to the supervisor or employer
(i) any contravention of this Part, the regulations or an applicable order of which the worker is aware, and
(ii) the absence of or defect in any protective equipment, device or clothing, or the existence of any other hazard, that the worker considers is likely to endanger the worker or any other person,
(f) cooperate with the joint committee or worker health and safety representative for the workplace, and
(g) cooperate with the Board, officers of the Board and any other person carrying out a duty under this Part or the regulations.
* See guideline G-D3-116 Orders to workers for more information.
General duties of supervisors
117
(1) Every supervisor must
(a) ensure the health and safety of all workers under the direct supervision of the supervisor,
(b) be knowledgeable about this Part and those regulations applicable to the work being supervised, and
(c) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), a supervisor must
(a) ensure that the workers under his or her direct supervision
(i) are made aware of all known or reasonably foreseeable health or safety hazards in the area where they work, and
(ii) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders,
(b) consult and cooperate with the joint committee or worker health and safety representative for the workplace, and
(c) cooperate with the Board, officers of the Board and any other person carrying out a duty under this Part or the regulations.
* See guideline G-D3-116 Orders to workers for more information.
Coordination at multiple-employer workplaces
118
(1) In this section:
"multiple-employer workplace" means a workplace where workers of 2 or more employers are working at the same time;
"prime contractor" means, in relation to a multiple-employer workplace,
(a) the directing contractor, employer or other person who enters into a written agreement with the owner of that workplace to be the prime contractor for the purposes of this Part, or
(b) if there is no agreement referred to in paragraph (a), the owner of the workplace.
(2) The prime contractor of a multiple-employer workplace must
(a) ensure that the activities of employers, workers and other persons at the workplace relating to occupational health and safety are coordinated, and
(b) do everything that is reasonably practicable to establish and maintain a system or process that will ensure compliance with this Part and the regulations in respect of the workplace.
(3) Each employer of workers at a multiple-employer workplace must give to the prime contractor the name of the person the employer has designated to supervise the employer's workers at that workplace.
General duties of owner
119
Every owner of a workplace must
(a) provide and maintain the owner's land and premises that are being used as a workplace in a manner that ensures the health and safety of persons at or near the workplace,
(b) give to the employer or prime contractor at the workplace the information known to the owner that is necessary to identify and eliminate or control hazards to the health or safety of persons at the workplace, and
(c) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders.
General duties of suppliers
120
Every supplier must
(a) ensure that any tool, equipment, machine or device, or any biological, chemical or physical agent, supplied by the supplier is safe when used in accordance with the directions provided by the supplier and complies with this Part and the regulations,
(b) provide directions respecting the safe use of any tool, equipment, machine or device, or any biological, chemical or physical agent, that is obtained from the supplier to be used at a workplace by workers,
(c) ensure that any biological, chemical or physical agent supplied by the supplier is labelled in accordance with the applicable federal and provincial enactments,
(d) if the supplier has responsibility under a leasing agreement to maintain any tool, equipment, machine, device or other thing, maintain it in safe condition and in compliance with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders, and
(e) comply with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders.
Duties of directors and officers of a corporation
121
Every director and every officer of a corporation must ensure that the corporation complies with this Part, the regulations and any applicable orders.
General obligations are not limited by specific obligations
122
A specific obligation imposed by this Part or the regulations does not limit the generality of any other obligation imposed by this Part or the regulations.
Persons may be subject to obligations in relation to more than one role
123
(1) In this section, "function" means the function of employer, supplier, supervisor, owner, prime contractor or worker.
(2) If a person has 2 or more functions under this Part in respect of one workplace, the person must meet the obligations of each function.
Responsibility when obligations apply to more than one person
124
If
(a) one or more provisions of this Part or the regulations impose the same obligation on more than one person, and
(b) one of the persons subject to the obligation complies with the applicable provision,
the other persons subject to the obligation are relieved of that obligation only during the time when
(c) simultaneous compliance by more than one person would result in unnecessary duplication of effort and expense, and
(d) the health and safety of persons at the workplace is not put at risk by compliance by only one person.
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Workers Compensation Act Disclaimer: The excerpts and summaries of the Workers Compensation Act on this site are not the official version of the Act. The official printed version of the Act can be obtained from Crown Publications. An unofficial version of the complete Act is available online at www.qp.gov.bc.ca/statreg/stat/W/96492_00.htm.
The excerpts and summaries in this online version may meet the requirement for the Workers Compensation Act to be readily available to workers. See Guideline G-D3-115(2)(f) for further details.