Legal Requirements, Occupational Safety in Alberta
MEMO
CC: All heads of Departments, all employees of the company, and potential new employees.
Re: Most important requirements, occupational health and safety measures, and Human
Rights for new employees.
The company being a mid size company, is interested in expanding its employee base. This will help put into practice the expansion plan of the company. The company has laid out a number of strategies to help them achieve this objective. The main strategy is to hire more employees as this will increase the general output of the company.
The company is located in Alberta, Canada. It is therefore obliged to follow legal requirements, occupational health and safety measures, as well as Human Rights when recruiting and hiring new employees to work for the company (An Employers Guide to Employment rules, 2009). The purpose of this memo therefore, is to sensitize everyone who is part of the company, and anyone who will soon be joining the company, of the these legal requirements, occupational health and safety measures and rights, as well as Human Rights according to the Constitution of Canada (An Employers Guide to Employment rules, 2009).
One key thing to note is that these rules apply to an employee so long as they are hired and working. One they stop working because they have been fired or laid off, then they seize to be of any relevance. More to that, some of these rules apply to, or cover the employee, others the employer, and others apply to the both parties (An Employers Guide to Employment rules, 2009).
If the employee comes from another country, then all the rules and regulations, as well as rights and privileges that the Canadians enjoy, will also apply to them. However, to work in Alberta, the employees must have a temporary worker visa and must meet all the medical and Canadian work requirements.
Before a potential employee has been hired, The Alberta Human Rights Act protects them from discrimination based on race, religious belief, skin color, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, place of origin, marital status, ancestry, source and amount of income, family status, and the sexual orientation of the individual (Service Canada, 2007). These types of discrimination are popularly known as protected grounds.
The right based on race is most sensitive since it is very common in companies not only in Canada, but in many parts of the world. This right is meant to protect employees who are foreigners or citizens of the country, but from a different race.
The right that protects potential employees from discrimination based on sex is also another issue that has brought about a lot of issues in work places. There are certain companies that will turn down a female employee on the basis that they are belong to a certain sex. The most affected sex being female. Various companies will avoid employing female employees and have unviable reasons for that. This also applies when a female employee tries to seek a promotion. A number of employees will decline to accord an employee the much deserved promotion just because they are female. This type of discrimination is very common and the company intends to stand out among many by giving women an equal opportunity of employment and promotion, so long as they satisfy the set requirements.
The company also intends to have opportunities for the disabled where they will be given equal grounds to prove their abilities and reasons why they should be employed. This is meant to protect the rights of the disabled since they should not be made to feel like they are outcasts in the community.
During an interview, the potential employee has the right to decline from answering questions that are based on the above mentioned grounds. However, an employee can ask if the potential employee is aged 18 years and above since most of these rights only apply to those who are 18 years and above. On the same note, a potential employee is also supposed to show their Social Insurance Number or an assurance that they can access one. However, this number is only given to the employer once the individual has been employed.
Once one has been employed, the law of Canada protects them from unconstructive dismissal. This is a situation where a company just dismisses the employee without any prior notice. The company should alert the employment prior their dismissal. Again, the company should have a system to ensure that the employees who are laid off are given some benefits. This is what is referred to as constructive dismissal.
According to the Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, employees are supposed to meet all the set standards of the code to ensure safety measures are maintained at the work place (Laird, Doug, Marilyn, University of Alberta, Faculty of Engineering, & Industrial Safety and loss Management Program, 2004). One is that the buildings and structures at the work place, be it that they are permanent or temporary, should be built as per set standards to reduce risks for the employees. More so, the management should provide protective devices, machinery, equipment, and anything else that will help make the work place more conducive and favorable. These resources are also meant to make work easier for the employees. Extra facilities provided at the work place should meet and satisfy the standards of safety.
Employers are also supposed to ensure that conditions such as temperature and ventilation at the work place satisfy all requirements and standards (Robert, & Frank, 2000). Employees should also not be exposed to risky substances or conditions while working. If this happens, it would be like a breach of the codes set for the employers and this would warrant them a law suit from the employees.
As a safety precaution, all dangerous substances should be well labeled. Data sheets with safety information should be made available to all employees. This will sensitize them on the dangers and the dangerous substances that are around the work place (Robert, & Frank, 2000).
The code dictates that an employee:
- Has safe entry to, and exit from the work place and also their stay at the work place should be secure.
- Should have access to first-aid facilities and health services which should be provided at the work place. At the work place, sanitary facilities, and safe drinking water should also be made available to everyone at the premises.
- Should have all information needed to ensure their safety at the work place.
- Should have a personal copy of the “Canada Occupational Health and Safety Regulations,” and a basic knowledge of how to go about the document.
- Should be trained on occupational health and safety and should be well aware of their responsibilities under the code.
The above codes of rights and health measurements are put in place to ensure that all employees in the work place are safe. It is the responsibility of the management in place to ensure that the work environment is safe and conducive for the employees (Robert, & Frank, 2000). Good working conditions and a conducive environment ensure high performance from the employees. This is because they are able to concentrate on their job without distractions, something that would be difficult if the working conditions were unfriendly. In such a situation, a lot of time would be wasted as the employees are complaining or as they to solve problems that would come up in the disorganized environment. It is also very de-motivating to work under harsh conditions.
Both the employee and the employer have got their roles to play so as to make sure that all codes, rules and regulations are fulfilled. So long as an employee keeps his part of the deal, then the employee has no option than to comply and do as expected.
References
Service Canada. (2007). Employment Standards, Work place Health and Safety, and Human
Rights.Workers’ Rights in Canada
Robert L. Harris, Frank Arthur Patty. (2000). Patty's Industrial Hygiene: VI. Law, regulation,
and management. New Jersey: John and Wiley Sons.
Laird Wilson, Doug McCutcheon, Marilyn Buchanan, University of Alberta, Faculty of
Engineering, Industrial Safety and loss Management Program. (2004). Industrial Safety
And Risk Management. Alberta: University of Alberta
An Employers Guide to Employment rules. (2009). Human Resource Strategies for Employers.
http://alis.alberta.ca/pdf/cshop/EmployersGuide.pdf
