Health and Safety A-Z
Topic: Contractor
Summary:
The University often hires contractors to do various types of work. Contracts may be a contract of service (i.e. an employee-employer relationship) or a contract for service (a business relationship). (Definitions and tests of these relationships are available through Revenue Canada and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, WSIB.)
Employees hired under a contract of service face the same hazards as other University employees and should receive the same direction, equipment, orientation, training, and supervision and as the other University employees who do similar work.
A contractor may be selected (contract for service) to do work because of a particular specialization or expertise. The University may hire a contractor, for example, to do annual window cleaning, and it might reasonably be assumed that a window cleaning firm selected for its specialized knowledge and expertise would also be fully responsible for the safety of its employees. This is not the case: In Canada (with one notable exception) employers are not able to “contract out” their health and safety responsibilities. In this example, the University, as employer, would be responsible for ensuring the window cleaning is done safely. H&S responsibilities can only be “contracted out” on construction projects where the constructor has full control of the project site (i.e. where the contractor is also the Constructor).
University employees who hire contractors (contracts for service) should, as a minimum, complete courses such as the WSPS’s Contractor Health and Safety in Ontario (details below).
The Project Management Office, Physical Resources, should be consulted before beginning any project involving construction or construction-related activities (as defined by the WSIB).
For More Information:
Free Contractor Safety Training in Ontario, PSHSA
Health and Safety Guide for Contracting out Work, IHSA:
Additional Resources:
Mandatory Coverage in Construction, WSIB
Last Revised: April 26, 2019