In Nova Scotia (NS), Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is legislated through the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration.
A worker is defined as anyone that is regularly employed full time, part time or seasonal (expected to last 3 months or more).
Nova Scotia has implemented the Internal Responsibility System (IRS). Under the IRS, all workplace parties (employers, contractors, employees, self-employed, owners, suppliers, etc.) must share responsibility for making the workplace safer and healthier.
Employer responsibilities are laid out in detail in the Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations.
OHS Policy
OHS Program
Committees & Representatives
Posters, Signage, Printables
Violence, Harassment & Bullying
Young Workers
Orientation & Training
Working Alone
Accessibility
First Aid
Emergencies, Hazards & Communicable Disease
GHS (WHMIS)
Return to Work
A general OHS policy is required by all businesses with at least 5 employees. The policy must be written and easily accessible.
A sample policy is available on the government website. CFIB members can also access a template Health and Safety Policy in the Member Portal.
An OHS program is required when there are regularly 20 or more employees employed within the province.
A program will have the following:
An Occupational Health and Safety Program must include:
Health and Safety Representative
In Nova Scotia, a Worker Health and Safety (WHS) Representative is required when you hire the 5th employee.
Each workplace needs to:
The representative is responsible for:
More information about representatives is available here.
Health and Safety Committee
In Nova Scotia, you are required to establish a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) when you have 20 or more employees in one workplace.
To determine the number of workers at your workplace, count anyone doing work for pay including full time, part-time and seasonal workers that have worked, or are expected to work, for at least 3 months.
Each work location is considered a separate workplace. If you have more than one location with more than 20 workers, each work site will be required to have a committee.
The committee needs to:
The JOHSC is required to:
Specific training is not required for committee members.
More information about JOHSC and H&S Representatives can be found in Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee/Health and Safety Representative: A practical guide and here.
Employers are required by law to post certain items in the workplace. The list of items that have to be posted includes, but is not limited to:
The following documents don’t need to be posted but the employer should make them available at the workplace:
No smoking/No Vaping posters: There is no requirement to have these posters; however, if your workplace has a Designated Smoking Room, then a sign must be placed near the entrance to the room. The sign must be at least 21cm wide by 30cm tall and be unobstructed by other signs or promotions.
In Nova Scotia, businesses in high-risk sectors must follow the Nova Scotia Violence in the Workplace Regulations.
All businesses are required to have:
Employers are required to consult with health and safety representatives or committees when establishing, reviewing, or revising a workplace violence prevention plan.
A Workplace Prevention Plan and Prevention Policy. You must make a copy of the workplace violence prevention plan (all pieces from above) available for examination at the workplace by any employer, contractor, constructor, supplier, employee, owner, or self-employed person in that workplace. This can be kept with your Occupational Health and Safety materials.
As of September 1, 2025, employers in Nova Scotia will be required to have a Harassment Prevention Policy in place. CFIB members can access a template in the Member Portal.
There is no specific training required for young workers, but the Workers’ Compensation Board of NS (WCBNS) does offer tools and resources to help you talk to young workers about health and safety in the workplace.
There is no specific health and safety training required by all workers in Nova Scotia. Training is based on a worker’s role and is determined by the workplace.
Employers must take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of people at or near the workplace. One of the main employer responsibilities under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act is to ensure training on how to do the work safely.
Occupational Health and Safety courses for Nova Scotians are available through the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). Courses are sponsored by the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration, Safety Branch. Nova Scotians can take up to 5 courses each year for free. You don’t need to take all 5 at once. You can register for courses on the CCOHS Nova Scotia OHS Training site. If you’re already registered, you can log in to CCOHS to take or review courses.
Additional courses including WHMIS are available through SkillsonlineNS, which includes hundreds of free online courses.
Health and Safety Committee Members
Specific training is not required for committee members; however, Section 13(1)(c) of the Act, requires the employer to "...provide information, instruction, training ....as necessary to the health and safety of the employees".
An employee is considered to be working alone when they cannot be seen or heard by another employee, they will be alone for some time, or if help is not readily available.
A working alone policy is not required in Nova Scotia; however, it would be best practice to have one.
A working alone hazard assessment and a violence prevention assessment must be done, and the employer must do all due diligence to remove, or at least minimize, any hazards before the worker begins work.
Any workers who work alone must hold a valid emergency first aid certificate.
An information on how to do a violence prevention assessment can be found on the government website.
NS does not currently have accessibility legislation for private enterprises.
FIRST AID
First aid requirements are typically made up of 3 parts:
First Aid Kits
Nova Scotia requires workplaces to follow the CSA Z1220-17 standard for first aid kits. CSA Z1220-17 “First aid kits for the workplace” sets out the type, size (including a contents list) and number of first aid kits required, based on various factors of the workplace. The number of kits you need will be based on the number of employees you have, your industry (risk), and the distance from a medical facility.
There are 3 types of kits:
First aid providers
The number of first aid trained providers depends on the number of workers during the shift, the type of work you do and the travel time to emergency services. First aiders are certified at three levels: basic, intermediate, or advanced. A chart to determine the number can be found on page 11 of the Workplace First Aid Guide for Employers and First Aiders.
Employers must pay the cost of first aiders’ training and regular wages and benefits while they are taking the training.
Other employer responsibilities - All businesses need to
Post signage in a visible place in the workplace indicating:
Employers must keep detailed records of every injury in the workplace and keep these records confidential. A record must include the following:
Records must be maintained for five years
There is no legal requirement to have an Emergency Response Plan, a Business Continuity Plan, a Communicable Disease Prevention Plan, or an Evacuation Plan, but having them is definitely a best practice.
Planning for different scenarios and making decisions now will put you a step ahead should disaster occur.
Here are five things you can do to get prepared:
Ask yourself:
For more information, see our web post Emergency Preparedness: the five things you need to do.
WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) and GHS (Globally Harmonized System) are world-wide systems providing information on hazardous materials used in the workplace. Employees need to know how to work safely, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to implement costly training programs.
You can find information on our website and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety website.
Return to work is a standardized process for when an injured employee is ready to reintegrate back into the workplace.
All workplaces must have a Return-to-Work program. As an employer, you have a duty to inform all employees of the return-to-work program and their rights to accommodation.
CFIB members can access a full Return-to-Work package in the Member Portal.