Amendments to The Saskatchewan Employment Act – What You Need to Know!

Change is inevitable, including when it comes to workplace health and safety. On May 17, 2023, The Government of Saskatchewan introduced amendments to The Saskatchewan Employment Act that will help improve health and safety. The amendments have been passed and are in force to Part III, Occupational Health and Safety provisions.

What You Need to Know

The Saskatchewan Employment (Part III) Amendment Act includes the following changes:

• The definition of a worker now includes secondary and post-secondary students.

• All incidents of harassment in the workplace must be investigated.

• All workplaces must have a violence policy in place by May 17, 2024, a violence prevention plan that includes an investigation of all workplace violence incidents.

• Occupational health officers have the authority to take photos and recordings during workplace inspections.

• Occupational health officers have the authority to exclude a person from an investigation interview if there is a perceived conflict. The person being interviewed would then be asked to nominate another person to be present.

• Housekeeping and general amendments were made to keep the legislation relevant and aligned with other legislative requirements.

A detailed outline and fact sheet of The Saskatchewan Employment (Part III) Act amendments can be found here!

Steps You Need to Take

At first glance, these amendments might seem overwhelming, but Service Hospitality is here to help! As an employer, you have the ultimate responsibility to ensure you are compliant with legislation. From the amendments, here are two things to focus on and ensure are in place within your workplace.

1. Ensure that an investigation is conducted for all incidents of harassment in the workplace.

2. Ensure you have a Violence Policy and violence prevention plan that includes an investigation of all workplace violence incidents. Employers will have until May 17, 2024, to ensure these provisions are in place. To get you started on developing your own Violence Policy, sample policies and guidelines can be found on saskatchewan.ca!

Service Hospitality can help you develop these. Click here to view all available resources on our Forms and Templates page. Below you will find ones specific to workplace violence prevention: 

Workplace Violence Risk Assessment Tool – for Hospitality

Workplace Violence Risk Assessment Tool – for Community Services

Violence Policy Template

Violence Policy Checklist – Have You Done Enough? Template

Important Reminder: All places of employment must always have a copy of the Saskatchewan Employment Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 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 once it is available.

Click Here to Download the Saskatchewan Employment Act!

*Specific updates can be found in Part III, General Duties, sections 3-8 (d.1), 3-9 (c.1), 3-10 (b.1) and 3-21.1*

Here at Service Hospitality, we want to ensure that all our employers know about upcoming changes and have the most up-to-date information. The health and safety of workers continue to be our top priority. For assistance, or if you have questions or comments, please Get in Touch with Service Hospitality.