The Small Business Start-Up Guide
​to Health & Safety

Welcome to the life on an entrepreneur!

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As fellow entrepreneurs, we understand the commitment and the many decisions you have made to get here. In addition to planning, financing, advertising and hiring, we urge you to make time for one of the most important components of your business…HEALTH AND SAFETY. 

Owners, supervisors and workers failing to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act are subject to fines. These can range from personal fines starting at $250.00 per offence, such as failing to wear a hard hat, to more serious fines of up to 1.5 million in the event of an accident.

It is a must to familiarize yourself with the OHSA and any CSA standards that apply to you. Many warnings, fines and shut-downs happen because an employer simply "did-not-know-what-they-didn't know", but this is not an argument that will stand in any court of law. It is your duty to figure out what you need to know in order to protect the health and safety of your workers, your clients, the general public and your company.

Help is available!

We are here to help guide you through any questions and concerns.

We have partnered wth industry experts such as All Safety Consulting and HR on Demand to assist our clients with safety programs, audits, inspections and human resource matters.

Legal Responsibilities

The following is a basic checklist to get you started. Health and Safety issues are varied and in depth topics.
Your type of business and the number of employees you hire will determine which guidelines you need to follow.
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Employer

Supervisor

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• Keep a safe and well-maintained workplace. 
• You are required by law to take all reasonable precautions to protect your workers from illness or injury. 
• Provide hazard Information, proper safety equipment, training and competent supervision.
• Ensure all workers take the "Worker Awareness in 4 Steps" available on the MOL website. This is free, mandatory training.
• Ensure all supervisors take the "Supervisor Awareness in 5 Steps" available on the MOL website. This is free, mandatory training.

• Provide a safe workplace and assign safe work:
  • You are required by law to take all reasonable precautions to protect your workers from illness or injury. 
• Provide training and information.
  • Inform your workers of job hazards and train them to do their jobs safely. 
• Provide supervision.
  • You are required to supervise your workers to ensure they work safely and use equipment and protective devices properly where required.

Ministry of Labour Regulations

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• You are required to have a copy of the Occupational Health and Safety Act available to all staff.
  • This is available in book form and online from the Ontario Ministry of Labour. 
• You are required to have a Health and Safety Policy. 
  • The Health and Safety Policy must be displayed in a prominent area of your workplace. 
• You may require a Joint Health and Safety Committee:
  • A business with 5-19 employees needs to have a designated staff member responsible for Health and Safety training/monitoring;
  • A business with 20 or more employees is required to establish  a JHSC with at least 4 members consisting of 2 workers and two members of management. 
• You are required to register with WSIB before you hire your first employee;
  • Sole proprietors and business partners can choose optional WSIB insurance. 
• Ensure that all subcontractors have WSIB insurance, or provide it for them. 
  • You can (and will) be fined for the violations your subcontractors make, even if you are not on-site at the time of an incident. 
• Virtually all employees are required to have WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) and be trained in SDS (Safety Data Sheets). 
  • The employer must have the SDS sheets easily accessible to all employees as well as the hotline number displayed prominently in case of emergency. 
  • Basic safety procedures should be taught such as dealing with spills, disposing of hazardous waste, fire safety etc; again this training will depend on the sort of business you are operating. 
• Provide First Aid Training and First Aid Kits:
  • The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act requires you to provide specific first aid equipment and training for your workers.