Right to Refuse Unsafe Work

Employees may refuse to perform work that they reasonably believe is unsafe to themselves or to anyone else.

Employees must be paid their regular wages while refusing to perform unsafe work, but their employer may also give the employee alternative work to do. 

If an employee refuses to perform work, the employer may assign that work to another employee, but the new employee must be informed of the previous refusal, the reason for it, and their own right to refuse the work.

How to refuse unsafe work: 

1. Tell your supervisor that you are refusing the work because of safety concerns.

2. Give your employer a chance to fix the safety issue. If the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction, report it to the workplace Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC) or Health and Safety Representative, if one exists.

3. If after this the issue remains unresolved, report the safety concern to the Department of Labour and Advanced Education.

Employees have a legal duty to report unsafe conditions in their workplace and workplace injuries. Reports should be made to the employee’s supervisor as soon as the unsafe condition or injury is noticed.

You may continue to refuse unsafe work as long as the safety problem has not been fixed to your satisfaction. The JOHSC, Health and Safety Representative, and/or the Department of Labour will investigate the issue.

If you refuse work due to safety concerns, you have the right to participate in any investigations by the JOHSC or the Department of Labour.

You must return to work if the Occupational Health and Safety Committee advises you to do so after their investigation, or if a government Occupational Health and Safety Officer investigates and determines that it is safe for you to return.