Health and safety policy statement

A buyer meets the term when asking whether the business’s safety paperwork is in order. Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, s. 25(2)(j), requires an employer to prepare and review at least annually a written occupational health and safety policy and to develop and maintain a program to implement it. Clause (k) requires a copy to be posted in a conspicuous place or in a readily accessible electronic format. Under s. 25(4), unless otherwise prescribed, clause (j) does not apply to a workplace with no more than a small number of regularly employed workers, a number the subsection sets. Red flags in a sale are covered in What employment red flags should I look for when buying a business?.

What Ontario says

Ontario’s small-business safety page says that in addition to preparing the policy, the employer must have a program in place to implement it. It lists the policy beside the workplace violence and harassment policies, which are separate policies. This entry covers Ontario only; check the rules where you are.

What to ask the seller

• A copy of the current policy and the date it was last reviewed
• The written program that implements it
• Where the copy is posted at each workplace

The wider topic is in occupational health and safety compliance.