Frequently Asked Questions

The number one way to ensure your employee wears their PPE is to make sure it fits them comfortably. EyeSafe BC designed a "Perfect Fit" checklist for assisting in this, which is shared with all their dispensing optometrists. This checklist is based on the guidelines provided in CSA Z94.3.1, combined with eyewear dispensing best practices. There is also an aesthetic component to consider, which usually means providing the employee with a variety of styles, shapes, and colours to choose from. You can find the 2026/27 frame catalogue here, which provides some examples of the options that exist for safety eyewear.

They are most infectious in the 2 days prior to symptom onset and in the few days following symptom onset. However people can certainly and do transmit frequently up to 10 days post symptom onset (longer for some individuals with specific health conditions).

You can see when the reports were last published and updated by scrolling down on the main screen. Some reports update at different frequencies and some are dependant on end of year statistics that may lag into July of the year following to allow employers to report and reconcile their accounts with WorkSafeBC. If you have a particular report that you would like more recent data for, you can contact [email protected] to see when it is expected to next be updated.
It may change your first aid procedures. Review all your first aid procedures and make any necessary changes. Conduct a first aid drill to ensure your procedures are effective.
It is unlikely that WorkSafe or a health authority would help with a vaccination policy; it falls outside their mandates. Check with peers in the industry to see what they have done or consult with an experienced employment/labour lawyer or consultant. If one wanted to start building a first draft of a policy for their organization, we recommend the following (broad) steps: Start with the “why” which should be based on health and safety; using a health and safety lens should give clarity to whether a vaccine mandate is even needed in your organization. Once you have determined mandatory vaccination is appropriate, ensure that you have appropriate protections for privacy (don’t collect more than you need) and to accommodate workers with medical or religious grounds for not being vaccinated.

Get information on the acceptable types of disinfectants, and carry out a risk assessment to set cleaning standards for your facility in terms of frequency and areas. For reference, refer to Health Canada

At these clinics, frontline and essential workers will receive one of the vaccines approved for all adults 18 and over: Pfizer or Moderna. We encourage you to accept the vaccine you are offered, as all of vaccines available for use in Canada are safe, effective, and will save lives.
Under B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan, vaccine is being provided for frontline and essential workers, especially in industries where full use of personal protective equipment and barriers can be challenging, where outbreaks and clusters have occurred or are ongoing, and where workers live or work in congregate settings.
Drills provide workplace parties with a chance to practice their roles and responsibilities, which helps to ensure an effective response in the event of a real emergency. Drills also provide an opportunity to identify and resolve potential challenges or deficiencies in the employer’s written first aid procedures. A first aid drill should include mock scenarios that support the evaluation of the effectiveness of the procedures. First aid drills should include all workplace parties that have duties outlined in the employers first aid procedures. Drills should reasonably approximate the expected response to an incident requiring first aid, up to the point of transport by Emergency Transporation Vehicle (ETV). Drills should be designed in such a way that they do not pose an undue hazard to workers or the public and first aid attendants participating in the drill. Where necessary to ensure worker safety, dummies may be used to simulate injured workers when testing procedures for transporting an injured worker to an ETV or area accessible to BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS). If a drill of a particular first aid procedure poses an undue hazard to workers or others, a table-top exercise may be used to supplement drill activities, if it will allow for an effective evaluation of the employers’ procedures. Note: Reviewing a real incident requiring first aid will not generally be considered an acceptable alternative to a drill as this practice may discourage the identification of deficiencies and/or introduce privacy or other concerns for injured workers, first aid attendants, and employers. First aid drills can be incorporated into emergency drills if this is the procedure you are evaluating. Make sure to document the details for first aid and emergency evacuation so you can provide evidence of both drills to a WorkSafeBC officer. If performing both drills together, ensure you take into consideration the potential for a real first aid emergency and have a plan in place should this occur during the drill.
You should not get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine if you have a serious allergy (anaphylaxis) to:
  • Those who have a serious allergy to polyethylene glycol (PEG)
  • A previous dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or to any part of the vaccine
Tell your health-care provider if you have had anaphylaxis but no cause was found after seeing an allergy specialist, or if you had anaphylaxis before and did not get seen by an allergy specialist.
Ale (KSW Lawyer): Employers are expected to accommodate a worker to the point of undue hardship, the point at which it is too difficult, unsafe, or expensive to remove barriers so that injured workers can return to work. If creating a new position is financially unfeasible for a business, the employer can establish that doing so would cause undue hardship.
It is permissible to drive an employee to medical services for a minor injury. However, the employer must create procedures for transporting an injured worker. First aid attendants receive training on when to refer workers to medical aid. First aid procedures should include procedures for:
  • How an injured worker will be transported to hospital or medical services (e.g., walk-in clinic) if the worker is ambulatory and their condition in stable and not life-threatening
  • How an injured worker will be transported to hospital if the worker is not ambulatory, or their condition is unstable or life-threatening (per rapid transport criteria [link to come])
Methods of transportation may include, a taxi, ride-hail, or by a co-worker in a company (or other) vehicle that is appropriately insured, maintained, and meets any other applicable requirements of Part 17 of the Regulation. Employers retain responsibility for ensuring the injured worker is safely transported without undue delay and must be able to show due diligence in this regard.