Refusing Unsafe Work – What You Need to Know
Under the PEI Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, employers and workers share the responsibility for ensuring a healthy and safe workplace. Both employers and workers are responsible for their own safety and for the safety of co-workers. This shared responsibility for health and safety is known as the Internal Responsibility System.
In addition to the right to know about health and safety issues and the right to participate in decisions that could affect their health and safety, workers also have the right to refuse to work when they believe a task or situation is dangerous to them or others in the workplace.
Exercising the right to refuse work may be the outcome of a failure to ensure a workers’ rights to know and participate. Having a clearly defined right to refuse process helps to ensure that health and safety concerns are assessed and corrected when necessary. This process includes steps to escalate concerns to higher levels of authority, if necessary, for resolution.
For detailed information and links to occupational health and safety legislation visit the Workers Compensation Board of PEI
Source: Workers Compensation Board of PEI