Who’s a supervisor at UBC? According to Safety & Risk Services (SRS) and WorkSafeBC, the answer may not be so obvious. We all know when someone officially reports to us, but WorkSafeBC holds everyone to a higher standard when it comes to occupational health and safety.
SRS shares that anyone—including non-managers, researchers, or faculty—who instructs, directs, and controls another person in the workplace is considered a supervisor by WorkSafeBC. The person does not need to be a direct report—or even in your department. Given this definition, who are you supervising?
WorkSafeBC has specific legislation that covers what this means for supervisors. Some of the highlights include:
- Ensuring the health and safety of all workers under their direct supervision.
- Being knowledgeable about the regulations pertaining to the work being supervised and comply with those regulations and any applicable WorkSafeBC orders.
- Ensuring that workers under their supervision are aware of all known or reasonably foreseeable health or safety hazards in the areas where they work.
- Consulting or cooperating with all workplace health and safety representatives, including those from WorkSafeBC.
Take the UBC Safety Supervision course to learn more about your responsibilities.