Right To Refuse Unsafe Work

If you have questions/concerns about the work that you are being asked to do, contact your Shop Steward. You can always contact the WCB Preventions Department. 

What is Right To Refuse Unsafe Work

  •  A right to refuse unsafe work is when there is reasonable cause to believe that if you continued to do the work or start the work it would create an undue health and safety hazard to you and/or those around you.  You are REQUIRED to stop the the work (or not start it) and report it if there would be a safety concern.

  • Some examples could be
    • climbing a broken ladder
    • driving a company vehicle when you know the breaks are not working
    • sitting in a chair that is unsafe
    • working with a student that needs to be physically lifted in/out of a wheelchair and you have medical documentation that indicates you cannot lift anything above 10 lb
    • working in a environment that is known to have nuts when you have a lift-threatening nut allergy
    • you have not been trained to work in a particular job (or with a particular student that requires specific training)
    • you are asked to use broken or unsafe tools/machines
    • when the required personal protective equipment is unavailable
    • the task is outside your normal duties and lacks a proper hazard assessment
    • working in a confined area that does not have proper ventilation
    • if you are required to climb a ladder or be up on the roof and there’s lightening
    • if the only chair available to you is not safe (broken too large/small) you may be able to refuse
    • if it’s in the safety plan/ISWI that you are required to have Low Arousal and you do not, you may be able to refuse
  • This is not to be used because you don’t want to do a task that is in your job classification or work with a specific child.  There has to be an immediate health and/or safety reason.  For example:
    • unless you have proper medical documentation, you cannot refuse unsafe work because you don’t want to work outside with the student you are assigned to on a rainy day
    • if it’s in you’re job classification to work with students, you cannot refuse to work with a student that need toileting because you don’t want to
    • As long as there is proper PPE (proper protective equipment), you cannot refuse to work with a student that is escalated.  However, there are exceptions:
      • if it’s in the safety plan/ISWI that you are required to wear ear plugs and you have a hearing aid, you can refuse
      • if it’s in the safety plan/ISW that Kevlar sleeves are to be worn and there isn’t any available to you, you may be able to refuse
      •  you may be able to refuse

How to Refuse Unsafe Work

Prior to doing any job, you should assess the job and what the outcome could be.  For this explanation, we are going to use the scenario of being asked to climb a broken ladder.

You inspect the ladder and notice that the third step is starting to crack.

You tell your manager that you are not comfortable using the ladder because you think it is unsafe. Your manager says it’s fine and that it will be a quick job

You tell your manager that you are refusing unsafe work due to the broken ladder.  Fill out an incident report on ESS.  On your incident report, you can indicate ‘Refused Unsafe Work at (location) and (time) because I was given a ladder that, after inspection, had a broken third step. At the time, I was to use the ladder to hang a banner approximately 12 feet up on the second floor of the south-wing in _______ school.  I immediately told (manager name)”.  Forward your confirmation of the incident report to president@cupe728.ca

Your manager HAS TO look into this.  This will require the manager to STOP WHAT THEY ARE DOING and IMMEDIATELY INVESTIGATE.  This could be a look-over of the ladder.  This could mean the manager asks you to send pictures (if the manager is off-site).

Your manager has to come back to you with their outcome.  This could mean you are asked to do a different task.  This could mean the manager gives you a new ladder/step stool.  While your manager is doing the investigation, if they ask someone else do do that ladder task, that person MUST BE ADVISED IN WRITING THAT THERE WAS A REFUSAL TO DO THAT WORK AND WHY.  This is legislation/law (legal language is at the bottom of this page).  Any co-worker that is told about the unsafe work

After the investigation, your manager will come back to you with their outcome.  This could be a new ladder, different equipment to use, postponing the task, ect.  Or your manager could have looked at the ladder and felt that the ladder was, in fact, safe to use.  If you are satisfied with your managers outcome, then you can proceed with the task.

However, if your manager states that it’s safe to use the ladder still and you do not feel that it is, you can refuse a second time. You will need to do a second incident report and state ‘As per the first incident report, (manager name) indicated that the third step of the ladder was safe.  However, I had shown (co-worker name and co-worker name) and they both agreed that the step would break if it was stepped on.  I also noticed that the third step was missing two screws, which I showed (manager name).”

At this time you CALL THE UNION OFFICE and CALL WORKSAFEBC PREVENTIONS DEPARTMENT.

 

Preventions Department:  604.276.3100         1.888.621.7233 (1.888.621.SAFE)

CUPE728 604-574-2873 or your Shop Steward if it’s after hours

YOU CANNOT GET IN TROUBLE FOR REFUSING UNSAFE WORK

You could get in trouble for continuing work that you know to be unsafe and could cause injury to you/others and not advising

 

Section 3.12 of the OHS Regulation (“Regulation“) states:

(1) A person must not carry out or cause to be carried out any work process or operate or cause to be operated any tool, appliance or equipment if that person has reasonable cause to believe that to do so would create an undue hazard to the health and safety of any person.

(2) A worker who refuses to carry out a work process or operate a tool, appliance or equipment pursuant to subsection (1) must immediately report the circumstances of the unsafe condition to the worker’s supervisor or employer.

(3) A supervisor or employer receiving a report made under subsection (2) must immediately investigate the matter and

(a) ensure that any unsafe condition is remedied without delay, or

(b) if, in the supervisor’s or employer’s opinion, the report is not valid, must so inform the person who made the report.

(4) If the procedure under subsection (3) does not resolve the matter and the worker continues to refuse to carry out the work process or operate the tool, appliance or equipment, the supervisor or employer must investigate the matter in the presence of the worker who made the report and in the presence of

(a) a worker member of the joint committee,

(b) a worker who is selected by a trade union representing the worker, or

(c) if there is no joint committee or the worker is not represented by a trade union, any other reasonably available worker selected by the worker.

(5) If the investigation under subsection (4) does not resolve the matter and the worker continues to refuse to carry out the work process or operate the tool, appliance or equipment, both the supervisor, or the employer, and the worker must immediately notify an officer, who must investigate the matter without undue delay and issue whatever orders are deemed necessary.

Section 3.12.1 of the Regulation states:

If a worker refuses work under section 3.12, the employer must not require or permit another worker to do the refused work unless

(a) the matter has been resolved under section 3.12(3), (4) or (5), or

(b) the employer has, in writing, advised the other worker and a person referred to in section 3.12(4)(a), (b) or (c) of all of the following:

(i) the refusal;

(ii) the unsafe condition reported under section 3.12(2);

(iii) the reasons why the work would not create an undue hazard to the health and safety of the other worker or any other person;

(iv) the right of the other worker under section 3.12 to refuse unsafe work.