OHS News Archives - BC Public School Employers' Association

Now available: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 FAQ

denekam2024-08-30T14:20:47-07:00

February 6, 2024

Now available: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 FAQ

BCPSEA has worked with sector partners to prepare a new resource: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 Public Education: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

This resource was developed in response to updates to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and WorkSafeBC Guideline G3.12 Refusal of unsafe work. The document provides sector-specific answers to questions that commonly come up during complex work refusals within the K-12 public school system, particularly involving interactions with dysregulated students.

Now available: Refusal of Unsafe Work in K-12 FAQdenekam2024-08-30T14:20:47-07:00

WSBC Board approves amendments to regulation concerning refusal of unsafe work

denekam2024-08-30T14:23:13-07:00

06-July-2022

WorkSafeBC (WSBC) has amended Section 3.12 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. This section outlines a worker’s rights to refuse unsafe work. The regulation directs a person not to perform any work if they have reasonable cause to believe doing so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person.
The new amendments include additional requirements for the employer around assigning refused work to another worker. As of Aug. 22, 2022, employers must not require or permit another worker to do refused work unless:

the matter has been resolved as outlined in the regulation, or
the employer has, in writing, advised the other worker of the following:
- the refusal
- the unsafe condition reported
- the reasons why the task would not create an undue hazard
- their right to refuse unsafe work

Read more on this issue in the BCPSEA OHS bulletin.

Understanding the WSBC Regulatory Development Process Steps

Regulatory Amendment Initiation – identifying specific key issues, SMEs and further data required.
Pre-Consulation – a pre-consultation session with a small number of external partners to receive feedback on the draft regulatory amendments.
Public Consultation – The draft regulatory amendments, along with explanatory notes, are published on the WorkSafeBC website for review and comment.
Public Hearing – draft amendments are made public and partners are provided with another opportunity to comment
Board of Director (BOD) Decision – WSBC presents the feedback received during the public hearings to the BOD and requests approval for the proposed amendments
Post-Decision – If the regulatory amendments are approved, the regulations are deposited with the Office of the Registrar of Regulations, Ministry of the Attorney General.

WSBC Board approves amendments to regulation concerning refusal of unsafe workdenekam2024-08-30T14:23:13-07:00

Workplace Violence Prevention Tools Now Available
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Workplace Violence Prevention Tools Now Available

denekam2022-07-19T10:43:56-07:00

All OHS NEWS

OHS News

December 26, 2024

The Workplace Violence Prevention Working Group is pleased to announce that it has concluded its main objective of providing school districts with tools, new and revised, that will support the workplace violence prevention process. The collaborative working group is comprised of representatives from CUPE, BCTF, BCPVPA, BCSSA, SSABC, BCPSEA, WorkSafeBC as well as occupational health and safety personnel representing rural and urban school districts. The tools are now available to the K-12 sector on the Occupational Health and Safety section of the BCPSEA website.

The Working Group tools can be found at the following BCPSEA OHS Resources and Tools page.

Workplace Violence Prevention Tools Now Availabledenekam2022-07-19T10:43:56-07:00