Compliance Undertaking and Notice of Contraventions – Here’s What You Need to Know!
Have you recently received a visit from an Occupational Health Officer? Were you left with a piece of paper outlining different safety legislation, specific tasks to complete, and deadlines? Did this leave you wondering, “What do I do now?”
When an Occupational Health Officer visits your workplace, they can legally inspect all areas of your organization. During this inspection, if the officer comes across an area that is not complying with the Saskatchewan Employment Act or Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, the officer will take one of two actions: require the workplace to enter into a compliance undertaking or serve the organization with a notice of contravention. But what exactly does that mean?
What is a Compliance Undertaking?
A compliance undertaking is a written agreement (not a warning) in which a workplace commits to taking steps to comply with occupational health and safety legislation. This will include completing specified tasks within a set time frame given by an officer.
A compliance undertaking does not require a workplace to agree they are in contravention of health and safety legislation as long as they agree to take action in the time frame given by the officer. A progress report must be submitted to the officer within five business days of the specified date for compliance.
What is a Notice of Contravention?
A notice of contravention is a formal enforcement tool, usually a document or letter that Occupational Health Officers give you. This document will identify and explain what they have seen that goes against occupational health and safety legislation. It will outline the items they are worried about and the laws that have been broken, and it will provide what corrective actions you need to take to ensure compliance.
An officer may ask you to explain your next steps and request that you send supporting documents as soon as possible, explaining how you will fix the noncompliance items. It is important to note that a notice of contravention must be based on reasonable, credible, and documented evidence by the Occupational Health Officer.
➡️Click Here for Additional Information on Compliance Undertakings and Notice of Contraventions
How Can We Help?
Service Hospitality’s mission is to build our members’ capacity to prevent workplace injuries by ensuring they identify the hazards in their workplace and comply with relevant health and safety legislation, protecting them from legal action.
If you receive a visit from an Occupational Health Officer and are unsure what to do next, reach out to one of the Safety Advisors at Service Hospitality! Together, we can work towards ensuring that your compliance undertaking or notice of contravention is handled efficiently and effectively!
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For assistance, or if you have questions or comments, please Get in Touch with Service Hospitality.
