Competent and supportive supervisors can help reduce injuries experienced by workers, especially when supervisors are properly trained.  

Research by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) found that workers most likely to suffer an injury were those who reported that their supervisors were unaware of hazards and/or didn’t provide reasonable protection. Injuries also increased when protective measures such as health and safety policies and procedures, health and safety awareness, and empowerment to participate in injury prevention were lacking.

Prioritizing training for supervisors can help prevent injury and illness and yield other protective benefits too. Workplaces with competent and properly trained supervisors are better prepared to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to workers. When they don’t, both employers and supervisors can face significant health and safety fines or, in worst case scenarios, jail terms when they are found to be criminally negligent.

SUPERVISOR OHS TRAINING. Available in-person or in a virtual classroom

Competence and Compliance

Workers Health & Safety Centre (WHSC) is Ontario’s only government-designated health and safety training centre and a leading provider of mandatory and essential training, including Supervisor Health & Safety Training that meets and exceeds mandatory training standards.

The law establishes workplace health and safety competency requirements for supervisors. Ontario’s Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) requires employers to appoint a competent person as a supervisor. A competent person is:

• qualified because of knowledge, training and experience to organize the work and its performance,
• familiar with the OHSA and Regulations that apply to the work, and
• knowledgeable about any potential or actual danger to health or safety in the workplace.

Employers must ensure supervisors complete occupational health and safety awareness training and are competent to carry out their legal duties to protect workers. Training must be completed within one week of performing work as a supervisor and must address a wide range of topics, including their significant obligations to protect workers and how to recognize, assess and control workplace hazards. 

WHSC supervisor training also helps participants understand Criminal Code amendments that resulted from Bill C-45, known as the Westray Bill. This established rules for attributing criminal liability to organizations and individuals, including supervisors, who direct the work of others but do not take reasonable steps to prevent bodily harm and instead show a wanton and reckless disregard for workers’ lives and safety (s. 217.1 and 219).

Convenience and Quality

The gold standard for training delivery is in-person. To this end we offer in-person courses in communities across the province including at our regional training facilities in Hamilton, Markham, Ottawa, Sudbury and soon to open London.
 
Workplaces seeking a more flexible approach can access many of our programs in virtual classrooms too. Regardless of the training mode, training is always led by a highly qualified instructor in real time, so you can participate in engaging sessions designed to ensure learning, ask questions and learn from both our instructor and other participants.

REGISTER FOR SUPERVISOR OHS TRAINING TODAY! 

Check out our complete Training Catalogue and upcoming scheduled training programs.

Unsure of your workplace training needs? Contact any of our Training Services Representatives located in communities across Ontario. Be sure to ask about preferred pricing for larger groups.

Need training in French? Review our extensive French catalogue. Or contact WHSC training services representative, Christopher Gervais at cgervais@whsc.on.ca or 613-407-2187.

Related Resources:
SPECIAL C-45 REPORT: Prison for supervisor found negligent in worker death
Inadequate work plan leads to critical injury and convictions
Supportive supervisors reduce risk of worker injury, study finds

Need more information?
Contact a WHSC training services representative in your area.
Email: contactus@whsc.on.ca
Visit: whsc.on.ca
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