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Health and Safety Meetings

Every employer must schedule regular monthly meetings with staff to discuss workplace health and safety matters. 

Health and safety meetings are crucial for raising awareness and education, reviewing and preventing incidents, and ensuring compliance with regulations. Meetings also encourage open communication between management and staff and a collaborative and proactive approach to promote a culture of health and safety within the clinic. Topics can include clinic inspections, bullying and harassment, violence prevention and health and safety education programs.

Meeting Requirements

  • Review Health and Safety Meeting Requirements

    Safety meetings allow physician employers and their staff to voice, discuss, and resolve health and safety issues collaboratively.

    • Health and safety meetings must occur once per month.
    • Health and safety meetings must focus on preventing and correcting unsafe conditions and practices while maintaining a cooperative interest in workplace health and safety.
    • Employers must maintain records of the meetings and the matters discussed.
    • If your clinic has more than nine and less than 20 staff members, a worker health and safety representative is required (review the next section). If your clinic has 20 or more staff members, a Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee is required (review JOHSC section).

Worker Health and Safety Representative

  • Elect a Worker Representative

    A worker health and safety representative is required if your clinic has more than nine and less than 20 staff members.

    • A worker health and safety representative must be selected from staff at the workplace who do not exercise managerial functions and must be elected by a ballot.
    • If the staff do not make their own selection after being given the opportunity, the employer must assign a worker to act as the health and safety worker representative.
    • The employer must ensure that the worker health and safety representative receives at least four hours of instruction and training within six months of being selected. To meet educational requirements, WorkSafeBC offers a free virtual course (refer to the Additional Resources section below).

Meeting Documents

  • Review Health and Safety Meeting Agenda

    This meeting template could be used to record the details of the monthly health and safety meeting by the employer and employee safety representatives. Health and safety meeting minutes should be retained.

    Health and Safety Meeting Agenda and Minutes

  • Test your knowledge. Take the quiz!

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    What topics are covered in health and safety meetings? Select all that apply.

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Move on to the next topic: Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC)