Mandatory health and safety awareness training

Mandatory health and safety awareness training is the basic course that Ontario’s Regulation 297/13, made under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, requires employers to ensure workers and supervisors complete. A buyer meets it after closing, when new staff and supervisors join the payroll and someone must say who has already been trained.

How the Ontario rule reads

Under the regulation, the employer must ensure a worker completes the program as soon as practicable, and a supervisor within one week of performing work as a supervisor. The duty does not apply where the person previously completed a program and gives the employer proof of completion, and the employer verifies that the earlier training meets the regulation’s requirements; section 3 sets out further exemptions. The employer must also maintain a record of the training. The Ministry’s guide says the requirements apply to all workplaces covered by the Act, regardless of sector.

What to ask on a purchase

• Ask for the training records the seller kept under the regulation.
• Ask which people gave proof of earlier completion, and whether the seller verified it.
• Confirm who will count as a supervisor once the business is reorganized.
• Ask how newly hired staff will be trained after closing.

Records like these belong in the employment checks in due diligence. For the wider duty, see occupational health and safety compliance.