Health and Safety
In general:
- Employers must provide a safe workplace, with proper training, supervision and equipment. This duty includes identifying, assessing and managing hazards, and investigating health and safety incidents.
- Employees must also take reasonable care to keep themselves safe, and to avoid causing harm to other people by the way they do their work. Employees may refuse work likely to cause them serious harm. Also, employees have the right to participate in improving health and safety.
There are some special rules for young people in employment or doing contract work:
- If the employee is younger than 15:
- They can’t do any work that is likely to harm them, such as using machines, driving or riding tractors or forklifts or lifting heavy loads (there’s a special exemption for tractors used in agricultural work, but only if a young person is a contractor)
- They can’t work on-site in logging, manufacturing or construction
- There is a limited exemption for driving/riding tractors if the young person lives on the farm or works as an independent contractor. This lets them drive or ride tractors for agricultural work if they are over the age of 12, but only if they are fully trained or being trained in the safe operation of the tractor and any implement being towed.
- If they are younger than 16:
- They can’t work at night (10pm-6am) except in special cases
- Young people on training or work experience must be treated as if they were employees.
