Vancouver Employment Law Blog

Employers in British Columbia are responsible for the protection of the health and safety of their employees. Workers must be informed of the known hazards that pose workplace injury risks, and they should be given safety training to learn how to mitigate those hazards. Workers who are tasked with jobs in unsafe conditions have the right to refuse to do the work.

Employers who encourage their workers to report near misses and potentially unsafe circumstances benefit significantly from an up-to-date understanding of safety concerns on site. Regardless of the employer's policy or lack thereof for internally reporting safety concerns, workers have the right (and obligation) under worker's compensation legislation to report an unsafe work condition if necessary. When faced with an internal report of an unsafe work condition, it will then be the duty of the employer to assess the situation and take appropriate corrective action. Employers may not discipline workers who refuse to work due to a safety concern.

Employers in British Columbia can land in hot water if they publish discriminating advertisements for job vacancies. Under employment law, the human rights of applicants may not be violated by placing ads that restrict some people from applying. No such advertisement may include specifications, limitations or mention preferences as to the types of applicants who may apply.

The characteristics that may not be specified or hinted at in marketing material for job vacancies include gender expression and identity, sexual orientation, race or colour, family and marital status, ancestry, or age. Also, places of origin, religion, political belief, and mental or physical disabilities may not jeopardize anyone's chances of securing employment. Employers may only limit applicants if the reason can be proved, such as advertising for a position that requires an applicant who understands and speaks a specific foreign language.

Terminating employees is rarely a smooth task. Even if every process is followed by the book, there could be anger, resentment and hurt feelings that may cause conflicts in the workplace. Therefore, its important for employers to know their statutory rights and obligations for how to process employee terminations.

As listed on the Government of British Columbia website, there are several different rules that need to be followed. The outline for providing notice and calculating compensation amounts is also listed.

Workers in most industries in British Columbia are entitled to workers' compensation benefits. Some employers will do anything to avoid paying a victim of a workplace accident, but injured workers should not give up. Legal counsel is available to fight for the rights to compensation.

An example of such a case involves an employee of a federal agency who was injured in a car accident while driving an unmarked police vehicle. She had permission to drive the company vehicle to her home after work because she was scheduled to give a presentation at another location on the following morning. After she embarked on the trip the next day, she encountered a snowstorm. She lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the median.