NEW: Are you training younger new hires adequately?

New employees always take time to get up to speed, but did you know that young employees need to be taught more? 

As a new employee with experience in the workforce, we all understand that there are certain measures we need to use to keep ourselves safe. To a skilled worker it is common sense, however, sometimes experienced workers forget that younger new hires need additional basic training requirements that would not be necessary for a worker that has been in the workforce for many years.

This situation has been identified as an issue and has caused enough safety infractions to propel the development of programs in which employers train young workers on specific hazards not often needed for a seasoned worker. For example, provinces across Canada have worker rights requirements, but does the new youthful employee you just hired know and understand these rights? 

Health and safety regulations require employees be taught their rights and be enabled when it comes to the required measures. In fact, all employees have the following basic rights:

• The right to know – As an employer you are required to teach employees all the potential hazards they could face, and then provide them with the necessary skills and tools to implement measures to control those hazards and keep themselves safe.
• The right to participate – Employees have a right to participate in the development of workplace controls, and measures that should be identified and implemented to control the hazards they will face while on the job. If the workplace has a committee, employees may want to participate.  This does not mean an employee can demand to be on a committee, but they have the right to meet with existing committee members to discuss the dangers they may face. The right to participate also includes their right to be involved in the training necessary to carry out their job role tasks.
• The right to refuse unsafe work – Employees also have the right to refuse work that is unsafe. Once refused, this does not mean they go home paid for the day, but they are required to stay close and respond to any questions that may arise about the unsafe work. During this time, the employer can also ask that other work deemed safe be carried out.  During this refusal, the employee cannot be penalized for reporting the refusal, but the employer is required to address the situation that brought on the refusal. If the employer addresses the situation, they must then show the employee what was done to make the work safe. If the employee still refuses, it may mean an inspector needs to be brought in to identify if the measures were adequate. While waiting for an inspector, if the employer has upgraded the job task to make it safer, other employees can be asked to perform the task provided they are informed of the reason for the refusal and they agree to do the work.

These rights are especially important during the relaunch process of the current pandemic measures being lifted. While employees will start being required to return to their duties, the above requirements should be considered to ensure employees are aware of the controls that the employer has put in place, and to understand the need to follow employer guidelines that are implemented to safeguard workers as much as possible from being placed in dangerous situations, and protect them from harm.

For more information on this subject, health and safety regulations for each province can be found online, or you can contact robertloenhart@propane.ca to discuss particular situations.