Amended Regulations – What You Need To Know!

Important Reminder: All places of employment must always have a copy of the SEA and OHS Regs available to their employees. This can either be a hard copy in a common area of the workplace or saved as a PDF version on a shared drive and/or their desktop. To remain compliant employers must download or purchase the new version on/after April 1, 2021. 

The amended regulations can be downloaded here. To purchase a hard copy please call Publications Saskatchewan at 306-787-6894.

Upcoming FREE Webinar:
Amended Regulations – What You Need To Know!

The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020

Presented by: Brelyn Klotz
Date: Wed, April 7th, 2021
Time: 10 – 11 AM (CST) 

Change is inevitable, including when it comes to workplace health and safety. On December 17, 2020, Saskatchewan made amendments to The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996 soon to be known as The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020. These changes were made to standardize safety requirements in the workplace and will be in full effect on April 1, 2021. Join us on Wed, April 7th for our information-packed webinar where we will:

• Cover all the amended regulations and their new requirements

• Show you where to access the amended regulations 

• Provide a timeline for when these changes MUST be incorporated into your organization

• Answer any outstanding questions you may have 

Let’s take a look at the changes together. At first glance, you will notice that in the new Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 2020 (OHS Regs 2020) the numbering format is different from previous versions. The new numbering format will now be in line with the Saskatchewan Employment Act, 2013 (SEA). At first glance, these changes might be overwhelming, but in actuality, it provides consistency throughout the legislation.

On top of the numbering format being changed, Saskatchewan has also made some minor housekeeping changes to ensure the language of the regulations is made clear. These changes ensure that the regulations are in keeping with the original intent and that they will continue to help reduce the number of potential workplace injuries. While the verbiage has slightly changed, the content within remains the same.

Another important change to the OHS Regs 1996 includes the consolidation of The Occupational Health and Safety (Prime Contractor) Regulations and The Occupational Health and Safety (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System) Regulations, otherwise known as WHMIS.

Prior to April 1, 2021, there were three separate chapters in the OHS Regs 1996 under the SEA for the following:

• The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, 1996, RRS c 0-1.1 (OHS Regs)

• The Occupational Health and Safety (Prime Contractor) Regulations, RRS c S-15.1 Reg 2 (Prime Contractor OHS Regs)

• The Occupational Health and Safety (Workplace Hazardous Information System) Regulations, RRS c S-15 Reg 6 (WHMIS OHS Regs)

As of April 1, 2021, the OHS Regs 2020 now combines all three of these former regulations into one set of regulations. While the OHS Regs 1996 version continues to make up the overall framework for the new regulations, the Prime Contractor OHS Regs and the WHMIS OHS Regs are simply included as Part 33 and Part 22 respectively in the new regulations. The purpose of integrating these regulations instead of having each of them remain as a stand-alone regulation is to assist in reducing confusion for employers, contractors, and workers.

Saskatchewan has also made amendments to the OHS Regs 1996 that will standardize the workplace requirements of first aid kits based on the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) standard Z1220-17 guidelines.

These regulations will now require the employer/contractor to:

• have a workplace first aid risk assessment conducted by a competent person;

• maintain first aid kits with supplies and equipment corresponding with the risk level identified by the risk assessment; and

• provide first aid personnel on the worksite/workplace corresponding with the risk identified by the risk assessment and the number of workers.

It is important to note that Tables 9 through 12 previously located near the end of the OHS Regs 1996 have been repealed as the requirements are now established in the CSA Standard.

As part of the Canada-wide initiative to reduce barriers in the area of occupational health and safety, the following personal protective equipment (PPE) standards have also been adopted but did not require an amendment to the regulations.

• Protective headwear (CSA Z94.1 2015)

• Eye and face protection (CSA Z94.3 2015)

• Protective footwear (CSA Z195-14)

• Hearing protection (CSA Z94.2-14)

• Personal floatation devices (must be labelled as approved by Transport Canada or other recognized maritime authority)

Important Reminder: All places of employment must always have a copy of the SEA and OHS Regs available to their employees. This can either be a hard copy in a common area of the workplace or saved as a PDF version on a shared drive and/or their desktop. To remain compliant employers must download or purchase the new version on/after April 1, 2021. 

The amended regulations can be downloaded here. To purchase a hard copy please call Publications Saskatchewan at 306-787-6894.

Here at Service Hospitality, we want to ensure that all of our employers are aware of upcoming changes and have the most up-to-date information. The health and safety of workers continue to be our top priority. For further assistance, please contact us at [email protected].