Health and Safety A- Z
Topic: Supervisor
Summary
Supervisors are workers who have charge of a workplace and / or authority over other workers. Trent University recognizes supervisors as university workers who have a duty and effective power to ensure that one or more workers comply with the OHSA or safety related policies and procedures.
The identification of a supervisor in the post-secondary sector can be difficult as universities have many unique positions that can attract supervisory duties, such as:
- Managers:
- Responsible for a large number of workers who engage in a wide variety of activities with differing risks.
- Department heads / Chairs / Principals / Principal Investigators
- Oversee work in their own departments and have authority over persons under their direct report.
To learn more about the meaning and scope of supervisors in university workplaces, visit this document created by the Council of Environmental Health and Safety Officers (CEHSO).
Employers have an obligation to ensure work is supervised by a competent person, a term defined in s. 1 of the OHSA. Supervisors must have an appropriate level of knowledge, training and experience to effectively organize the work, a knowledge of actual and potential hazards, and an understanding of OHSA and related requirements as they apply to the work.
Supervisors have the same rights and responsibilities as any other worker, with additional, supervisory duties. These additional duties are best summarized as taking, “…every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker…” The specific duties are described by s. 27 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Supervisors must complete Supervisor Health and Safety Awareness in 5 Steps. This course is available on the Blackboard Learning System.
For more information see:
Occupational Health and Safety Act
CCOHS, H&S Legislation in Canada, Basic Responsibilities
Additional Resources:
CCOHS, Basic H&S Program Elements
Last Revised: May 25, 2023