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Leading from the Inside Out
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  • "This program is great and well facilitated. I hope that more healthcare leaders can have the opportunity to participate in this kind of program."
  • "This is a good program and especially helpful to have other participants in the same field of work."
  • "I thought Callie did a great job at providing opportunities for everyone in the group to open, honest and to share their valuable experiences with others."
  • "Working with the other leaders was the most rewarding – to hear other leaders and their struggles and together coming up with self-care strategies to better cope with work-life balance"
Guidelines & Regulations

Guidelines and Regulations

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WorkSafeBC’s healthcare and social services planned inspection initiative focuses on high-risk activities in the workplace that lead to serious injuries and time-loss claims.
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WorkSafeBC is releasing a discussion paper with proposed amendments to the Current Rehabilitation Services and Claims Manual that guide wage rate decisions related to short-term and long-term disability compensation. Recommended amendments include: These changes may affect your claims costs. Click here to view the proposed changes and offer feedback to WorkSafeBC – The deadline is 4:30 p.m. on Friday, […]
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Safety Month - April 2024

Joint Health & Safety Committee

A Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is required in workplaces where there are 20 or more employees. Small workplaces with more than nine but less than 20 employees must have a worker health and safety representative.
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Tips and ideas for your safety committee
Joint occupational health and safety refresher presentation

A key component of a workplace health and safety program that prevents injury is the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee. 

Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is required in workplaces where there are 20 or more employees. Small workplaces with more than nine but less than 20 employees must have a worker health and safety representative.

The information in this section will support your Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committees or  Worker Representatives to fulfill their legal obligations in the workplace.

Tips for your annual review

An annual review of your safety program does not need to be done simultaneously. Consider creating a road map by choosing 1-2 monthly topics to evaluate.

  • First, start with your joint health and safety committee review; WorkSafeBC has a Joint Health and Safety Committee Evaluation Tool and Guide to help.
  • Then, use the headings from your safety program to divide the topics into months - after a year, your entire safety program will be evaluated!

More bulletin board tips

Keep it updated; make it worth checking out. Assign someone with a creative flair to keep it looking its best!

  • Post a funny health and safety quote or cartoon or post WorkSafeBC’s What's Wrong With This Photo?
  • Post small contests or challenges, and see past Safety Den entries and the Safety Innovations Database for ideas.
  • Consider an electronic bulletin board with regular reminders about access and updates.

Engage all workers

Safety is not just the responsibility of the employer or the safety committee; engage all workers!

  • Support natural leaders throughout your organization in ways that leverage their natural abilities to build trust, increase buy-in and positively influence your workplace health and safety culture.
  • Brainstorm creative ideas focusing on practical site-specific health and safety ideas.
  • Engage workers in workplace safety through fun and comradery. Consider what innovation ideas you’ve implemented in your workplace and create an application for next year’s Safety Den.

Tips for your annual review

Your bulletin board (physical or digital) is a valuable resource for providing information to all workers.

  • Post the location of first aid, how to report an incident or injury, meeting minutes, as well as the names of your sites committee members.
  • Other helpful resources on your bulletin board can include:
    • Call to action that engages all workers to think and work safely
    • Site-specific health and safety resources
    • Current education and training opportunities
    • Employee and Family Assistance Program information

Recruit committee members

Want workers to join the health and safety committee or engage in health and safety?

  • Brainstorm why workers are not interested in joining your health and safety committee.
    • Do all workers understand what a health and safety committee does?
    • Are the meeting dates inaccessible or inconvenient times?
  • Highlight some benefits: an opportunity for their working group to be at the table, offering solutions to health and safety issues, additional training, and job enlargement.

More tips to engage workers

Safety is not just the responsibility of the employer or the safety committee; engage all workers!

  • Let workers use their hidden talents and skills beyond their primary roles
    • Take turns training: use our Safety Huddles or send a worker to one of our health and safety train-the-trainer courses. Explore the courses we offer through our Learning Space.
  • Show your appreciation for your healthcare assistants – send them to one of our Hearts and Hands events!

Share a success story or tip from your safety committee

Safety committee success stories

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SafeCare BC is currently offering an occupational health and safety refresher presentation. This free 30-minute presentation is offered in-person or virtually and can be integrated into your health and safety committee meeting. It’s filled with practical advice on sector-specific safety topics and includes an opportunity to ask one of our health and safety consultants site-specific safety questions. 

Fill out the form below to schedule a presentation or for more information on the OHS Refresher presentation.

Book a JOHSC refresher
Joint Health & Safety Committee

Featured Resources

The general health and safety orientation provides general information related to the organization’s overall occupational health and safety program.
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This template provides employers and supervisors with an overview of occupational health and safety topics to be considered for inclusion when providing caregiver-specific health and safety training and should be used with the general health and safety orientation.
Files Attached
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Download our easy-to-use template to create terms of reference for your Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee.
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Choose from template A or B for your Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee meeting minutes.
Files Attached
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Use this template to create a personalized agenda for your next Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee meeting.
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Starting at $20
If you’re a member of a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee, this online self-paced course will provide you with systematic and practical guidance to ensure that your committee gets the most out of your health and safety meetings, while following occupational health and safety legislation in British Columbia.
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Starting at $35
This introductory or ‘fundamentals’ Occupational Health and Safety course will introduce new committee members to the basic principles of workplace health and safety.
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As a SafeCare member, your voice counts. We want to hear from you. I invite you to take our annual member survey. In the time you can make yourself a coffee or brush your teeth, you can complete it. Don’t believe us? Take the survey to find out.  Your feedback helps us understand the health […]
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As a SafeCare member, your voice counts. We want to hear from you. I invite you to take our annual member survey. In the time you can make yourself a coffee or brush your teeth, you can complete it. Don’t believe us? Take the survey to find out.  Your feedback helps us understand the health […]
View News Story
Joint Health & Safety Committee

Web links

The joint health and safety committee supports the employer's duty to ensure a healthy and safe workplace.
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Joint health and safety committees play a key role in workplace health and safety, and can assist employers with reducing injuries and disease. The intent of this handbook is to support effective joint committees in B.C.
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This document contains sample tools and templates for joint health and safety committee work. You can modify and customize them for your own use.
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This tool has been developed to help you meet the legal requirements for conducting the annual evaluation of your joint health and safety committee.
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In Canadian legislation, health and safety committees are mentioned under slightly varying names. We have used the name joint health and safety committee to reflect its composition. The committee may also be known as the joint health and safety committee, occupational health committee, workplace safety and health committee, or occupational health and safety committee.
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This book is an updated version of How to Implement a Formal Health and Safety Program. It has been revised to be a comprehensive primer on basic health and safety planning and management for employers and joint committees.
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A key risk inventory (KRI) can be a valuable tool in your overall strategy for managing workplace risks. This guide describes what a KRI is and how to use a collaborative approach to create one for your workplace.
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Joint Health & Safety Committee resources

Explore some tips and ideas for your joint occupational health and safety committee!
View Safety Topic
SafeCare BC is currently offering an occupational health and safety refresher presentation. This free 30-minute presentation is offered in-person or virtually and can be integrated into your health and safety committee meeting. It’s filled with practical advice on sector-specific safety topics and includes an opportunity to ask one of our health and safety consultants site-specific safety questions. 
View Safety Topic
This policy statement should be reviewed and supported by the JOHS Committee and the union(s) and communicated to all workers before being finalized and signed by the most senior member of the organization.
Files Attached
View Template
WorkSafeBC’s healthcare and social services planned inspection initiative focuses on high-risk activities in the workplace that lead to serious injuries and time-loss claims.
View News Story
To increase overall safety awareness, we have created a safety game similar to Jeopardy, with four categories, each with three questions, and each of our six communities competes to win our safety drills with new questions every month.
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News Story
Safety huddles are always in season
February 5, 2020
The Super Bowl may have marked the end of football season, but don’t let that stop you from doing a huddle — Safety Huddle! Whether you’re a football player or a healthcare assistant, huddles are a great way to get your team performing their best. Download a safety huddle today.
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SafeCare BC wants to ensure that you are prepared for the new Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) regulations that will become effective on April 3, 2017.
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We strive to empower those working in the continuing care sector to create safer, healthier workplaces by fostering a culture of safety through evidence-based education, leadership, and collaboration.
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