Health and Safety Excellence program offers $1,000 for new participants
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) of Ontario has made some adjustments to its health and safety program to help employers with their health and safety initiatives.
The “enhanced” Health and Safety Excellence program makes it “easier for businesses to achieve lasting health and safety improvements, access the support they need and enjoy financial incentives and rebates on their WSIB premiums,” said Christine Arnott, public affairs manager, WSIB Ontario.
Under the program, employers are required to choose a WSIB-approved program provider who will work with them to select program topics that make up the employers’ health and safety action plan.
Employers have 41 topics to choose from, spread across three levels – foundation, intermediate and advanced.
WSIB Ontario also offers “a recommended pathway that includes sets of pre-selected topics to make it easier for small businesses and businesses new to health and safety to get started”.
This time, there’s more targeted support for small businesses and those new to health and safety to help them make their workplaces safer, said Arnott. Also, members have access to expert advice from leading health and safety professionals.
Through the program, employers should be able to:
“The WSIB’s Health and Safety Excellence program helps you develop an internal culture that respects and prioritizes health and safety. We received immeasurable assistance from our program provider that helped us create a safer workplace,” noted Safe Tree Ltd.
Recently, the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) also released two resources to help employers cater to the mental health needs of their workers.
Employers that join the WSIB Ontario Health and Safety Excellence get a $1,000 incentive and can also earn substantial rebates on their WSIB premiums.
To date, program members have earned over $72 million, said Arnott.
Ontario is among the safest provinces for workers, according to a previous report.
Previously, the International Labour Organization also launched a new training manual aimed at helping employers prevent and address violence and harassment in workplaces.
