No matter how many people you employ, the Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health Act and Regulation requires you to provide a safety and health orientation specific to your workplace to every new employee. This orientation ensures they are aware of your company’s expectations for safety and health, the roles of management and staff, and safety and health hazards that may exist.
New workers include:
- All new hires, including full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees.
- Workers who move from one area or location to another with different facilities, procedures, or hazards.
- Staff returning from a leave of absence where the processes or hazards changed during their absence.
Depending on the size and nature of your workplace, the task could be completed by one or more people. For example, the business owner, the supervisor, and the worker representative (or safety committee member) may all have a role.
Orientations must cover several specific topics, as listed in the sample checklist. Your workplace may require more topics, and you should customize the checklist if necessary. There is also a sample New Worker Learning Outcome Objectives form you can use to further document your orientations.
Maintain records of who participated in the orientation and when it was completed. Keep the records in the workers’ personnel files and the company’s Workplace Safety & Health (WS&H) files. When a WS&H inspector visits your business, you may be asked to share these documents.
As with all of your company's WS&H policies, you should review your safety orientation materials whenever safety hazards change in your business, or at least once every three years.
More information is available in the Safe Work Manitoba Bulletin 255: Safety and Health Orientation Requirements and Guide: New Worker Orientation and Training.
Still have questions?
CFIB members can contact CFIB Business Advisors at cfib@cfib.ca or 1-833-568-2342.
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