How to add psychosocial hazards to your JHSC workplace inspection

In Ontario, a designated worker member of the joint health and safety committee must inspect the physical condition of the workplace, usually once a month. You can add psychosocial hazards such as heavy workload, working alone, conflict and violence risk to that JHSC workplace inspection: look at the conditions that create them, ask workers about the work, and record hazards, never people. Here is how it fits the wider work of a joint health and safety committee.

What the law says about JHSC inspections

The rules are in section 9 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA):

• The worker members designate a worker member “to inspect the physical condition of the workplace.” If possible, that person is a certified member (subsections 9(23) and 9(24)).
• The inspection happens at least once a month, unless a regulation or an inspector’s order says otherwise (9(26)). If monthly is not practical, the whole workplace is inspected at least once a year, with part of it inspected each month, on a schedule the committee sets (9(27) and 9(28)).
• The employer and the workers must give the inspecting member the information and assistance they need (9(29)).
• The member tells the committee about “situations that may be a source of danger or hazard to workers,” and the committee must consider them within a reasonable period (9(30)).

The ministry’s guide for health and safety committees and representatives adds that video conferencing cannot be used as a substitute for the monthly physical inspection. In workplaces with a health and safety representative instead of a committee, the representative has the same monthly inspection duty (8(6)), and the same approach works.

Where psychosocial hazards fit in a JHSC workplace inspection

The Act speaks of the “physical condition” of the workplace, so this is a way of looking, not a new legal duty. It fits the committee’s broader function under subsection 9(18) to “identify situations that may be a source of danger or hazard to workers.”

The JHSC program standard lists psychosocial as one of six hazard categories taught in Part One, and names “documenting worker concerns” and observation as ways to identify hazards. Our article on what changed in JHSC certification in 2026 covers the training itself.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) includes psychosocial hazards in its guide to effective workplace inspections: hazards “that can affect mental health or well-being such as overwork, stress, bullying, or violence and harassment.” Among the work practices to watch for, it lists workers who are “overloaded, fatigued, working in conflict with others, or working in isolation.”

Step by step: a psychosocial lens on the monthly walk

1. Agree the scope at the committee first

Agree what the inspecting member will look for and how findings are written up. A standing psychosocial item on the JHSC agenda gives the results somewhere to go. The 13 workplace factors that affect mental health give the committee a useful frame. CCOHS notes that the same factors are used in CSA Z1003.

2. Prepare with records, not personal files

CCOHS suggests reviewing past inspection records, hazard reports and incident reports first. For psychosocial hazards, add aggregate information such as overtime trends, staffing gaps and counts of violence incidents. The employer must also give the committee its workplace violence risk assessment results (32.0.3(3)). See workplace violence risk assessment in Ontario. Do not ask for individual complaint or medical files.

3. Add observation points to your checklist

• Working alone. Who works in isolated areas or off-shifts, and how would they get help? Where violence is a risk, the employer’s violence program must include “measures and procedures for summoning immediate assistance when workplace violence occurs or is likely to occur” (32.0.2(2)(b)). Check that alarms and check-in procedures work.
• Public-facing areas. Check counters, waiting areas and entrances: sightlines, exits, barriers, and whether staff know how to report abuse.
• Policies and reporting routes. Are the violence and harassment policies posted, on site or electronically, in workplaces with more than five workers (32.0.1(2))? Do workers know how to report harassment, including to someone other than their supervisor if the supervisor is involved (32.0.6(2)(a) and (b))?
• Pace and staffing. CCOHS says to “consider factors such as how the work is organized or the pace of work.” Look for backlogs, short-staffed lines and skipped breaks.
• Shifts and fatigue. CCOHS counts shift schedules and supervision among the “people” elements of an inspection.
• Places to recover. Is there a usable break area, and somewhere private to step away after a hard call?

4. Talk to workers about the work

CCOHS says inspections let you “listen to the concerns of workers and supervisors,” and advises asking questions without unnecessarily disrupting work. Ask about the job, not anyone’s health:

• “What slows you down or gets in the way here?”
• “If a customer became abusive, what would you do, and who would you tell?”

Point anyone describing harassment to the employer’s reporting route; it does not belong in the inspection notes. If a worker says they are struggling, listen and point them to your workplace’s supports. If someone is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1. Anyone thinking about suicide can call or text 9-8-8, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

5. Record the hazard, not the person

CCOHS is clear: “Do not use information derived from inspections for disciplinary measures.” Describe the condition and its exact location so someone else could find it, never a person (“Sam seems stressed”). CCOHS lists “psychosocial” as a hazard classification and suggests a priority level for each item (A for immediate action, B for short-term, C for long-term). Note any item that keeps coming back. A worked example:

• Location: Dock 3, receiving, night shift.
• Condition: one receiver works alone from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., with no check-in procedure and no way to call for help away from the desk phone.
• Factor and priority: protection of physical safety; B (short-term action).
• Recommended control: hourly check-in calls and a portable alarm, reviewed at the next inspection.

6. Report, recommend and follow up

Bring findings to the committee (9(30)), which can make written recommendations. The employer must respond in writing within 21 days, with a timetable for the recommendations it accepts and reasons for any it rejects (9(20) and 9(21)). At the next inspection, check whether the fix happened and worked.

What an inspection cannot tell you

Some factors rarely show on a walk: recognition, civility, trust in leadership, or feeling safe to speak up. Those need confidential input from workers. A psychosocial hazard assessment is the right tool, and the committee can recommend one. The committee is not assessing anyone’s mental health; it looks for conditions of work that can harm people.

Our Champion stream, for JHSC members, supervisors, HR and program leads, covers finding hazards, building the plan and measuring results. On the in-person practical day, Champions take a mini-audit role, and the day includes a de-identified hazard register.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

• Ontario e-Laws, Occupational Health and Safety Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1, ss. 8, 9, 32.0.1–32.0.3, 32.0.6
• Government of Ontario, Guide for health and safety committees and representatives
• Government of Ontario, Program standard for joint health and safety committee training
• CCOHS, Effective Workplace Inspections
• CCOHS, Mental Health: Psychosocial Risk Factors in the Workplace
• Public Health Agency of Canada, About suicide