WORK REFUSAL POLICY

To ensure the health and safety of all employees, Sandy Lane Automotive has developed the work refusal policy to outline when an employee may refuse work they feel is unsafe and the procedures the company will take when a refusal is made. Any employee who refuses to perform their duties because of a legitimate safety concern will not face any reprisal because of this action.

The Work Refusal Policy applies to Sandy Lane Automotive, its employees, vendors, visitors and clients who are on the company’s premises or acting on behalf of the company at all times and without exception.

Imminent Danger:

Under Section 35(2) of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, imminent danger is defined in relation to any occupation as:

  1. A danger that is not normal for that occupation, or
  2. A danger under which a person engaged in that occupation would not normally carry out the person’s work.

All workers have the legal right to refuse unsafe work that either puts them in imminent danger, requires them to perform work they have not been properly trained to do, or with with safety hazards that could reasonably be avoided with proper safety equipment, procedures, or necessary repairs.

Section 35 of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act states that a worker may refuse to work or do particular work where there exists imminent danger, no worker shall:

  1. Carry out any work if, on reasonable and probable grounds, the worker believes that there exists an imminent danger to the health or safety of that worker;
  2. Carry out work if, on reasonable and probable grounds, the worker believes that it will cause to exist an imminent danger to the health and safety of that worker or another worker present at the work site; or
  3. Operate any tool, applicant or equipment if, on reasonable and probable grounds, the worker believes that it will cause to exist an imminent danger to the health or safety of that worker or another worker present at the work site.

Sandy Lane Automotive takes the health and safety of our employees very seriously. No employee who refuses work that he/she deems to be unsafe will be subject to employer reprisals in the form of discipline, dismissal, threats of dismissal, penalties, or suspension.

In the event of work being refused or stopped, the following actions are required:

Employee:

  1. The worker must immediately inform their supervisor, or an appropriate designate, of a work refusal with an explanation of the circumstances they believe put them in danger.
  2. The refusing worker must remain in a safe place near the workstation and available to the supervisor or employer for the purposes of investigation until an investigation has been completed. If the situation is resolved at this point than the worker will return to work.
  3. Should the worker deem the situation to no longer be dangerous, the worker will return to work.
  4. In the event that a worker is unsatisfied with the results of the investigation, they may continue to refuse the work provided they have reasonable grounds to base their refusal on. In the event of a continued refusal the employee should file a complaint with an Occupational Health and Safety Alberta officer.

Supervisor:

  1. The supervisor or employer representative must investigate the situation immediately and resolve the issue in the presence of the worker.  The supervisor or employer representative should interview the worker and complete a work refusal form to ensure sufficient information has been collected in order to conduct a proper investigation.  Following the investigation, immediate steps must be taken to correct any problems or issues discovered.
  2. The supervisor should ensure that no other worker is assigned to use or operated the tool/equipment or perform the work for which the work refusal was made until the investigation has been completed and any resolutions have been implemented.
  3. When the investigation has been completed, Sandy Lane Automotive will prepare a written report detailing the nature of the refusal, the investigation that took place and the actions taken, if any. A copy of the final written report will be given to the worker who originally made the refusal.
  4. In the event that a worker is unsatisfied with the provided resolution and continues to refuse work, an Occupational Health and Safety Alberta office will be notified and a request for an investigation must be made.
  5. The supervisor may assign other reasonable work during the employee’s normal work hours for a worker that has refused work. The worker will receive no loss of pay or reprisal for refusing unsafe work.

If the work is found to be unlikely to endanger anyone, the refusing worker will be expected to return to work. If the employee continues to refuse to return to work following the confirmation that the work is safe, continued refusal to return to work may be considered insubordination and disciplinary action may be initiated.

A printable copy of this policy may be found here.

Dated:  2018-10-15