Navigating Compliance Training in Canada: Ensuring Success and Mitigating Risks
Keeping your employees safe, informed, and compliant with regulations is a crucial aspect of running a successful business. While the specific requirements can vary depending on factors such as location and industry, understanding the importance and benefits of compliance training is essential for every employer. By proactively addressing potential compliance issues through training, you can significantly reduce the risk of legal action, fines, and reputational damage, protecting your business in the long run.
Beyond the Legal Obligation:
Compliance training goes beyond simply checking a box to meet legal requirements. Investing in compliance training boosts employee morale and builds a better culture by:
- Building a Safe and Healthy Work Environment: training on Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), and workplace violence and harassment, enables employees to identify and mitigate risks. By fostering a safer and healthier work environment employees can build and add to a safer work culture.
- Promoting an Inclusive Culture: Training on human rights and other relevant regulations instills ethical practices within your organization, leading to a more respectful, engaged, and inclusive workplace culture.
- Boosting Employee Morale: When employees understand their rights, responsibilities, and the regulations governing their work, they become more confident and empowered to perform their duties effectively.
Jurisdictional Landscape:
Each jurisdiction has its own set of regulations. Here are some common training requirements you should consider:
- Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System/Global Harmonized System (WHMIS/GHS): Any worker potentially encountering hazardous materials in the workplace must undergo this training, which equips them with knowledge of hazard identification, pictograms, labelling, and safety data sheets.
- Human Rights: All jurisdictions mandate training and adherence to human rights legislation. Targeted areas include recruitment, avoiding discrimination and harassment in the workplace, accessibility and providing accommodation in the workplace.
- Workplace Violence and Harassment: Creating a safe and respectful work environment is paramount. Training on identifying, preventing, and responding to different forms of violence and harassment is mandatory in all location jurisdictions.
- Occupational Health and Safety (OHS): Specific OHS requirements vary, but most jurisdictions mandate training on workplace safety hazards, emergency procedures, and workers’ rights and responsibilities.
Remember, this is simply a general overview. Specific compliance requirements for the workplace vary by:
- Industry: Certain industries may have additional mandatory training requirements specific to their sector.
- Employer Policies: Many employers have internal training policies that exceed the legal minimums
How Can We Help?
Navigating the complexities of compliance training can be challenging, but with the right tools and resources, it becomes more manageable. MaxPeople Learning Academy is our learning management platform that offers a wide range of courses covering mandatory compliance topics across jurisdictions.
The best part? Hassle-free administration our team takes care of your setup — from uploading your employees, to assigning courses, and providing reports and completion certificates; we’ve got you covered. To get more information on your specific compliance training requirements, contact us.
Additionally all jurisdictions in Canada have an Employment Standards Act, while there are nuances across each one, most will cover key elements such as minimum wage, overtime pay, vacation time/pay, and termination entitlements. Some jurisdictions may require employer-provided educate new hires on their employment entitlements. Further to this, your employment agreement must be up-to-date and valid to protect both parties’ interests in the employment relationship. Contact our legal experts at Rodney Employment Law to have your employment agreements reviewed and revised to ensure you are safeguarded.
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