What must a BC young or new worker orientation cover?

**In British Columbia, an employer must give a young or new worker health and safety orientation and training specific to that worker's workplace *before* the worker begins work there.** WorkSafeBC OHS Regulation sections 3.22–3.25 define who is covered, list the mandatory orientation topics, require additional instruction when observation or the worker shows a need, and require records. This is a workplace-and-task briefing, not a generic welcome presentation. A checklist is useful only if the employer actually shows the worker the local hazards, procedures and people.

This page serves the BC operational task. The live Canadian young and new worker overview compares provinces; the live WorkSafeBC employer guide covers the wider BC OHS regime. Both mention orientation, but neither is a full section 3.23 checklist and follow-up process. Use the current regulation itself for a legal decision.

Who is a “young” or “new” worker?

Section 3.22 defines a young worker as anyone under 25 years old. It defines new worker more broadly than “new hire.” The term includes a worker new to the workplace, returning after hazards changed during an absence, affected by changed workplace hazards, or transferred to another workplace where the hazards differ. An experienced worker can therefore be “new” for this rule. Age and experience are separate questions: a 45-year-old tradesperson at an unfamiliar project needs the relevant orientation, while a 20-year-old long-serving worker remains young.

Build a trigger check into hiring, transfers, return-to-work, changed processes and project changes. An office employee moved to a warehouse, a maintenance worker returning after a production line was rebuilt, and a contractor's worker entering a different site may each encounter different hazards. Decide what the employer's own workers need under section 3.23 before they start. Do not treat a training certificate from another site as proof of workplace-specific instruction here.

If a worker is both young and new, one thorough orientation can address both conditions. The point is coverage of the actual workplace, not two separate forms. A returning worker whose hazards have not changed may not meet section 3.22's return-from-absence trigger merely because they were away, though other instruction may still be prudent. Record the reason for a refresh when the work has changed.

The required topics under section 3.23

The regulation lists thirteen subject areas. A usable orientation should record how each relevant point was covered:

1. Supervisor. Give the supervisor's name and contact information, and explain who takes over if the supervisor is unavailable.
2. Rights and responsibilities. Explain employer and worker duties under the Workers Compensation Act and OHS Regulation, how to report unsafe conditions and how a worker can refuse unsafe work.
3. Workplace rules. Show the rules that govern the worker's location, tasks, access, housekeeping, permits and restricted areas.
4. Actual hazards. Discuss the hazards the person may encounter, including potential robbery, assault or confrontation where relevant. Use the real job, not a stock hazard list.
5. Working alone or in isolation. Explain check-in, assistance and escalation arrangements where the job presents this situation.
6. Violence. Explain how the workplace's violence risks are controlled, who receives a report and what a worker should do if threatened.
7. Personal protective equipment. Show what is needed, how it is selected and used, and where to get a replacement.
8. First aid and reporting. Physically identify first-aid facilities, how to summon first aid and how to report an illness or injury.
9. Emergencies. Walk through alarms, evacuation, assembly, severe weather or other relevant emergencies and the worker's role.
10. Task demonstration. Instruct and demonstrate the worker's work task or process, then check that the worker can do it safely.
11. OHS program. Explain the employer's health and safety program if section 3.1 requires one and show where the worker can find it.
12. WHMIS. Cover Part 5 WHMIS information requirements as they apply to the workplace and the products the worker may encounter.
13. Committee or representative. Provide contact information for the joint OHS committee or worker health and safety representative where one applies.

These points are taken from section 3.23(2). Do not omit a statutory topic simply because a generic induction template has no box for it. Equally, do not read thirteen headings aloud and call the task complete. The employer must give orientation and training specific to the worker's workplace before work begins.

Turn the list into a real pre-work briefing

Start with the worker's location and tasks. Identify the supervisor, current hazards and safe-work procedures from the site's assessments. Walk the actual route to first aid, emergency exits and areas the worker may enter. Demonstrate the equipment or process they will use. Ask the worker to explain or show the critical steps, especially where a mistake could injure someone. A signature shows attendance; it does not prove that the person understands the work.

For a restaurant worker, the task demonstration might cover a slicer, hot surfaces, cleaning chemicals and who to call during an aggressive-customer incident. For a construction worker, it might cover moving vehicles, restricted zones, access, task-specific tools, first-aid arrangements and the site's emergency procedure. The same headings lead to different content because the hazards differ. If an induction is conducted remotely before arrival, complete the site walk and any physical demonstration before work starts.

The WorkSafeBC orientation checklist is a useful starting template, available in a modifiable format. Adapt it to the current site. A template downloaded five years ago should not be assumed to reflect a new process, a changed entrance or newly introduced machinery. Have a supervisor or trainer who understands the work perform the briefing and identify who is responsible for clearing any outstanding item before the worker starts.

Contractors and multi-employer sites add coordination but do not erase the employer's duty to orient its own young or new workers. A prime contractor or site owner may deliver a common site induction, while the worker's employer still needs to ensure the person understands their task, tools and employer procedures. Compare what the common induction covers with the section 3.23 topics, then fill any gap. Keep evidence of both parts rather than assuming the other party's sign-in sheet proves everything.

Additional orientation after the first day

Section 3.24 requires additional orientation and training if workplace observation shows the young or new worker cannot perform a work task or process safely, or the worker requests it. That second trigger matters: a worker asking to see a task again should not be treated as an inconvenience or a failure. Pause or control the task, provide the needed instruction, then check understanding. Record what was taught and why.

Observation should be active, especially during the first shifts and after task changes. A supervisor who notices a worker bypass a guard or choose the wrong chemical should investigate whether the initial explanation was unclear, the procedure impractical or supervision insufficient. Correct the work system as well as the individual's knowledge where necessary. Section 3.24 does not prescribe an arbitrary refresher interval; it names concrete triggers. Other rules, competency standards or employer policy may require additional training at other times.

Suppose a worker returns after a warehouse changes its traffic routes. Section 3.22 treats them as a new worker if hazards changed during absence. Give a route-specific briefing before they resume work. If observation then shows that the worker is still walking through a forklift crossing without understanding the new controls, section 3.24 calls for more instruction and a checked correction. An old induction record is not an answer to a changed hazard.

What evidence should the employer keep?

Section 3.25 requires records of all orientation and training provided under sections 3.23 and 3.24. It does not prescribe one universal form or a single fixed retention period in that section. Keep enough detail to show the worker, site, date, trainer, topics, task demonstrations, any outstanding matter, the worker's questions and additional training. Record when the worker was cleared to begin the particular work, not merely when a form was opened.

A practical record includes the version of the site briefing and the hazards it reflected. If the process changes, a versioned record shows whether the worker received the old or new instruction. Link to relevant safe-work procedures and WHMIS information, but avoid reducing them to an unchecked hyperlink. When a worker receives extra training under section 3.24, note the observation or request, the response, the follow-up check and the supervisor's decision.

Digital storage can help with retrieval across projects, but do not imply that uploading a signed checklist proves the orientation happened. If a regulator or incident investigator asks what was demonstrated, the record should help the worker and trainer describe it. Keep personal training information accessible to the people who need to supervise work and protected from unnecessary disclosure.

Common mistakes

• Orienting only first-time employees. Transfers, returns after changed hazards and workers affected by new hazards can also be “new.”
• Calling age 25 “young.” The statutory definition is under 25.
• Giving the briefing after productive work starts. Section 3.23 requires it before the young or new worker begins work at that workplace.
• Using the same presentation everywhere. The instruction must fit the actual workplace and worker's tasks.
• Missing confrontation or lone-work risks. The prescribed list expressly includes them.
• Treating attendance as competence. Demonstrate the work process and observe whether the person can do it safely.
• Ignoring a request for help. Section 3.24 makes a worker's request a trigger for additional instruction.
• Forgetting the follow-up record. Section 3.25 covers both initial and additional orientation.
• Assuming a contractor's common site induction covers employer-specific tasks. Check the split of content and fill the gaps.

Where Complys may fit

The verified Complys Canada site describes compliance documents and training records. An employer evaluating Canadian OHS compliance software can ask whether its deployed setup can hold the site-specific orientation version, attach the worker's record, distinguish initial from additional training and make a supervisor's review visible. This article does not claim Complys delivers a WorkSafeBC-approved orientation, automatically determines who is new, verifies understanding, or certifies legal compliance. The employer must ensure the real pre-work instruction and follow-up occur.

Use the current WorkSafeBC regulation and modifiable checklist to build a briefing for each workplace. Check the trigger whenever hazards, people or sites change, and preserve a record of both the initial orientation and any later instruction.

For the related Complys product, see Ohs Compliance Software. This guide is general information, not legal advice; verify current requirements against the official sources linked above.