WorkSafeBC would like to provide stakeholders with an update on our ongoing efforts to engage workers and employers on the amendments to OHS Regulation Part 8 (safety headgear), which took effect on September 1, 2021.

Since the regulation changed, we have been helping employers to understand their requirements to take steps to eliminate or minimize the risk of head injury from thrown or falling objects, and workers to understand their rights and responsibilities. As part of our commitment to incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion into our regulations, policies, programs, and processes, our efforts have included building an understanding of the requirements for workers who wear religious headwear.

As part of these efforts, we have posted new resources to worksafebc.com and have started a multi-language outreach campaign.

The Safety Headgear page on worksafebc.com has been updated with additional information on risk management, rights and responsibilities, and choosing the right type of safety headgear. The page also include links to the following new or updated resources:

1. Resource Guide | Safety headgear: Assessing and controlling risks of head injury: A guide to a four-step risk management process that employers can use, in consultation with workers, to identify the most effective ways to protect them when there is a risk of head injury. Available in English and Punjabi.
2. Risk management template: A fillable template that can be used to identify the risks in the workplace and record the controls in place to manage these risks. Available in English and Punjabi.
3. Safety headgear: Rights and responsibilities: This resource has been updated with a process map to outline the steps workers can take if they have questions or concerns about headgear policies at their workplace. Available in English and Punjabi.

Guideline G8.11(1) Safety Headgear has been revised to include updated language about the use of risk assessments, and to link to the resource guide, template, and updated rights and responsibilities document. New and revised guidelines are posted for a 60-day preliminary period, during which time the stakeholder community can comment and request revisions. The preliminary posting end date for G8.11(1) is July 8, 2022.

In addition to continuing to address the regulation as part of workplace inspections and consultations, we have launched a multi-language digital campaign to help both workers and employers understand its application at their workplace.

The campaign will focus on creating awareness among workers of the regulation and encouraging them to talk to their employer about what this means for them in their specific jobs. Employers will also be targeted to create awareness of the change, and their responsibility to conduct a risk assessment before a worker starts an assignment in a work area where there is a risk of head injury.

You can visit worksafebc.com for more information about the campaign in both English and Punjabi.