Refusal of Unsafe Work

There has been an amendment to the right to refuse unsafe work legislation.  The new section requires an employer to provide written notice of a work refusal while the employer is still working through the steps to resolve the work refusal. Written notice must be provided to any worker assigned or permitted to do the work that is the subject of the work refusal. When there is a joint health and safety committee or worker health and safety representative at the workplace, they must also be given notice in writing.  

This section requires that the following be included in the written notice: 

• The fact that another worker has refused the work  
• The reason provided by the other worker for refusing the work  
• The reason why the employer believes the work would not create an undue hazard for the subsequent worker, or to the health and safety of any other person  
• Information about any subsequent worker’s right to refuse unsafe work 

Please contact Gavin Slade-Kerr at hs@surreyteachers.org for support if you are acting on your right to refuse unsafe work.