What Are Your Rights At Work?
As a worker in BC, what are your rights? How can you stay safe at work? Let’s learn about your rights and responsibilities at work and what to do if you get injured.
Your Rights and Responsibilities at Work
As a worker in BC, you have 3 rights and many other responsibilities.
Your rights are:
- The right to know about hazards in the workplace
- The right to participate in health and safety activities in the workplace
- The right to refuse unsafe work
Your responsibilities are to:
- Be alert to hazards. Report them immediately to your supervisor or employer
- Follow safe work procedures and act safely in the workplace at all times
- Use the protective clothing, devices, and equipment provided. Be sure to wear them properly
- Cooperate with health and safety committees at your workplace, worker health and safety representatives, WorkSafeBC prevention officers, and anybody with health and safety duties
- Get treatment quickly for injuries that happen while working and tell the health care provider the injury is work-related
- Follow the treatment advice of health care providers for injuries
- Return to work safely after an injury by modifying your duties and not immediately starting with full, regular responsibilities
- Never work under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any other substance, or while overly tired
As you can see, all of these rights and responsibilities are to keep you and your co-workers safe. Check out WorkSafeBC for more information on staying safe in the workplace.
How to Refuse Unsafe Work
One worker’s right is the right to refuse unsafe work. It’s illegal for your employer to punish a worker for raising a health and safety issue. If you feel like this happened to you, you can submit a prohibited action complaint.
What To Do When Work Might Be Unsafe
- Immediately stop the work and report it to your employer or supervisor
- Try to fix the problem with your employer or supervisor
- If you haven’t yet reached an agreement, investigate the problem with your employer or supervisor and one of the following
- A worker representative at your workplace’s joint health and safety committee
- A worker chosen by your trade union
- Any other worker you choose
- If you still haven’t resolved the problem, contact WorkSafeBC. A prevention officer will investigate and help find a solution
How To Report a Workplace Injury
If you get injured at work, report it to WorkSafeBC. There’s multiple ways you can report your injury, and they’ll help support you as you recover. The sooner you do it, the sooner they can help you.
We want you to stay safe at work, and knowing your rights and responsibilities is a step towards that. Remember, it’s your right to refuse work you believe is unsafe, and WorkSafeBC is there to help you.