BC Joint Health and Safety Committee Training
Once you have registered and enrolled, scroll to the Course Content section at the end of this page to begin your lessons.
Our online JHSC training for British Columbia gives new and current joint committee members the knowledge to do the job well: what BC’s law requires, what the committee does, how to run meetings and inspections, how to take part in investigations and work refusals, and how to evaluate and improve the committee. In 24 narrated video lessons, you’ll learn the requirements and see how they work in real BC workplaces.
The course is structured around the six topics in section 3.27(4) of BC’s Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and provides more than the eight-hour minimum based on its lesson-video duration. The employer remains responsible for assessing the member’s training needs, confirming the current law and any exception or variation, ensuring actual completion, and keeping the required records.
Training a team? For online group training, buy your enrolments here, then complete our Group Training Student Information form so we can set up each learner’s account.
Learn more about how our online safety training works.
An effective joint committee can help identify hazards early, bring concerns forward, make recommendations, and monitor the employer’s response. The committee does not replace the employer’s duties or authority to implement controls. In BC, an employer with 20 or more workers regularly employed at a workplace must establish and maintain a joint health and safety committee there, and each new member must receive at least 8 hours of training. This course gives members that foundation in plain language, with practical tools they can use at their next meeting.
This course is designed around the topic and minimum-duration requirements of OHS Regulation section 3.27. WorkSafeBC guidance allows employers to use external training providers, but Calgary Safety Consultants does not claim that WorkSafeBC has approved or endorsed this course. The employer must use a reasonable process to assess training needs and select appropriate training, and must verify completion, records, current requirements, and workplace application. The course does not replace the Workers Compensation Act, the Regulation, or the employer’s duties under them, and it is not legal advice.
BC JHSC Training at a Glance
Price: See the registration page for current pricing
Delivery: 100% online and self-paced
Course format: 24 narrated video lessons in six modules, with BC workplace examples and a knowledge check after every lesson
Course length (estimated): About 12 hours, including just over 11 hours of lesson video plus the knowledge checks and final exam
Assessment: A three-question knowledge check after every lesson (100% to continue) and a 24-question final exam (80% to pass), with unlimited retries
Includes: A downloadable 191-page Student Reference Guide with a card for every teaching slide, lesson summaries, BC reference tables, official sources and 15 worksheets and checklists
Certificate: Certificate of Completion and Training Record
Covers: Foundation training on BC joint committee requirements. Employers must add the workplace, industry, hazards, procedures, rules of procedure, and member-specific training needs
Developed by: Calgary Safety Consultants, led by John Duplessis, a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)
What Does This JHSC Training Cover?
This JHSC training follows the work a committee member actually does: understanding the law, carrying out the committee’s duties, running the committee well, inspecting, investigating and responding to work refusals, and keeping the committee effective year after year.
You’ll learn how to:
- Explain the purpose of a joint committee and how it fits the internal responsibility system.
- Find what you need in the Workers Compensation Act, the OHS Regulation, policies and guidelines.
- Describe the duties and rights of employers, supervisors and workers, and protection from prohibited action.
- Tell when a committee is required and how members, co-chairs and alternates are selected.
- Identify hazards, deal with worker concerns and write recommendations that get a written response.
- Advise the employer on programs, policies, training and workplace change.
- Set rules of procedure, run effective meetings, and write, post and keep meeting reports.
- Plan and make regular inspections, report findings and follow corrective action through to close.
- Take part in incident investigations and the refusal of unsafe work process.
- Complete the annual committee evaluation, plan member training and build your first year on the committee.
Lessons use workplace examples and decision points from real BC settings, such as a sawmill in Quesnel, a hotel laundry in Victoria or a municipal works yard in Elkford.
Joint Health and Safety Committee Requirements in BC
Under section 31 of the Workers Compensation Act, an employer must establish and maintain a joint committee in each workplace where 20 or more workers are regularly employed, and wherever a WorkSafeBC order requires one. Section 45 requires a worker health and safety representative where more than 9 but fewer than 20 workers are regularly employed. Sections 33 to 35 address committee composition and co-chairs. Employer, worker, union, order, and workplace circumstances must be checked before applying these thresholds.
OHS Regulation section 3.27 requires the employer to ensure each committee member selected on or after April 3, 2017 receives, as soon as practicable and no more than 6 months after becoming a member, at least 8 hours of instruction and training on the six topics in subsection (4). New worker health and safety representatives require at least 4 hours on the topics in subsection (5). Subsections (6) and (7) contain prior-training exceptions.
Under subsections (8) and (9), the employer must provide the person with a copy of the training record and keep the employer’s record until 2 years after the person ceases to be a member or representative. Subsection (10) makes this training separate from annual educational leave under Act section 41.
The Student Reference Guide’s BC reference tables summarize the sections the course relies on, checked against WorkSafeBC’s official Law and Policy pages on November 6, 2026. Laws, policies and guidelines change, so read the current official text before you rely on a requirement.
Who Should Take This JHSC Training?
This course is built for joint committee members and the people who support them in any BC workplace and industry.
It’s suitable for:
- New worker and employer members who need their section 3.27 training
- Co-chairs who lead meetings, recommendations and the annual evaluation
- Current members who want a refresher or a stronger committee
- Alternates who attend inspections and investigations
- Worker health and safety representatives in workplaces of 10 to 19 workers
- Managers, supervisors and safety coordinators who work with the committee
Employers often use this JHSC training for new members as they join and as a common foundation for the whole committee. Our inspection, incident reporting and investigation and hazard assessment courses build on the same skills. Committees in Alberta can see our Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Alberta.
Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Course Features
Our joint health and safety committee training combines what BC law requires with the practical skills that make a committee work.
Course features include:
- 100% online and self-paced
- 24 narrated video lessons in six modules
- All six section 3.27 topics, with WorkSafeBC’s G3.27 learning outcomes mapped lesson by lesson
- Hazard identification with the 12 CSC Energy Sources, such as Gravity, Motion and Psychosocial
- BC workplace examples and decision points in every module
- A three-question knowledge check after each lesson, with feedback after each answer
- A 24-question final exam, with one question from every lesson
- A downloadable Student Reference Guide with BC reference tables
- A Certificate of Completion and Training Record
The Student Reference Guide includes 15 worksheets and checklists:
- New Member Document Checklist
- Committee Set-Up and Membership Check
- Committee Tracking Log
- Written Recommendation Template
- Consultation Register
- Rules of Procedure Contents Checklist
- Meeting Agenda and Report Checklist
- Inspection Planner and Walk-Through Checklist
- WorkSafeBC Officer Visit Checklist
- Incident Investigation Participation Checklist
- Refusal of Unsafe Work Record
- Annual Committee Evaluation Planner
- Member Training Needs Assessment
- Committee Year Planner
- My First 90 Days Plan
They’re practical committee aids in our own words. Where a worksheet names a section, read the section for its exact wording. For more depth, see our guides to job hazard analysis, incident investigation and corrective actions.
BC Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Modules
Six modules follow the work of a BC joint health and safety committee, from the law that sets it up to your first year as a member. Each lesson is one narrated video with a knowledge check.
Module One: The Joint Committee and BC’s OHS Law
Module One explains why joint committees matter, how BC’s OHS law is organized, everyone’s duties and rights, and when a committee is required and who sits on it.
Lessons:
- Lesson One: Why Joint Committees Matter
- Lesson Two: BC’s OHS Law: The Act, Regulation, Policies and Guidelines
- Lesson Three: Duties, Rights and Protection From Prohibited Action
- Lesson Four: When a Committee Is Required and Who Sits on It
Module Two: Duties and Functions of the Joint Committee
Module Two covers the committee’s duties and functions: identifying hazards, dealing with worker concerns, making recommendations and advising the employer.
Lessons:
- Lesson Five: The Committee’s Duties and Functions
- Lesson Six: Identifying Hazards and Dealing With Worker Concerns
- Lesson Seven: Making Recommendations That Get Results
- Lesson Eight: Advising on Programs, Policies, Training and Workplace Change
Module Three: Rules of Procedure and Effective Committee Work
Module Three covers how the committee works: rules of procedure, meetings, reports and records, and the roles of co-chairs and members.
Lessons:
- Lesson Nine: Rules of Procedure: How Your Committee Operates
- Lesson Ten: Running Effective Committee Meetings
- Lesson Eleven: Meeting Reports, Posting and Committee Records
- Lesson Twelve: Co-Chairs, Members and Working Together
Module Four: Workplace Inspections
Module Four covers workplace inspections: what BC requires, planning, making an inspection, and reporting and following up.
Lessons:
- Lesson Thirteen: Inspection Requirements in BC
- Lesson Fourteen: Planning Regular Inspections
- Lesson Fifteen: How to Make a Regular Inspection
- Lesson Sixteen: Inspection Reports, Corrective Action and Follow-Up
Module Five: Incident Investigations and Refusal of Unsafe Work
Module Five covers incident reporting, investigations, causes and corrective action, and the refusal of unsafe work.
Lessons:
- Lesson Seventeen: Incident Reporting and What Must Be Investigated
- Lesson Eighteen: Investigation Participation and the Preliminary Investigation
- Lesson Nineteen: The Full Investigation, Causes and Corrective Action
- Lesson Twenty: Refusal of Unsafe Work
Module Six: Evaluating, Training and Sustaining the Committee
Module Six covers the annual committee evaluation, training and education for members, and putting it all together in your first year.
Lessons:
- Lesson Twenty-One: The Annual Committee Evaluation: What the Regulation Requires
- Lesson Twenty-Two: Doing the Evaluation and Improving the Committee
- Lesson Twenty-Three: Training and Education for Committee Members
- Lesson Twenty-Four: Putting It All Together: Your First Year on the Committee
Complete Your Online JHSC Training
Enrol on this page, then work through the lessons in order. After each video, complete the lesson’s three-question knowledge check. You need all three answers correct (100%) to move on, with feedback after each answer and unlimited retries.
After Lesson 24, complete the 24-question final exam, with one question from each lesson in random order. You need 20 correct answers (80%) to pass, and you can retake it as often as you need. Once you’ve completed all 24 lessons, their knowledge checks and the final exam, you can download your Certificate of Completion and Training Record. Give a copy to your employer. The record documents this course; it does not by itself prove legal compliance, committee effectiveness, practical competence, or that the employer has completed its training-needs assessment and record duties.
Frequently Asked Questions About JHSC Training
Does this course meet the BC requirement for new committee members?
It is structured around the six topics in section 3.27(4) of the OHS Regulation and includes more than eight hours of lesson video. The employer must still confirm the member’s selection date, any exception or variation, actual completion, training needs, current law, and required records. WorkSafeBC guidance permits external providers, but this course is not presented as WorkSafeBC-approved or endorsed.
Who has to take joint committee training in BC?
Each joint committee member selected on or after April 3, 2017 must receive at least 8 hours of training, as soon as practicable and no later than 6 months after becoming a member. Worker health and safety representatives need at least 4 hours on set topics. A person who was a member or representative in the previous 2 years and already received the minimum training may be exempt.
Is this the same as educational leave?
No. Section 3.27 training is separate from the 8 hours of annual educational leave each committee member is entitled to under section 41 of the Workers Compensation Act. The course explains how educational leave courses are chosen and how to plan your training needs.
How long does the online JHSC training take?
We estimate about 12 hours: just over 11 hours of lesson video, plus the knowledge checks and final exam. You can stop and return at any time.
Do I receive a certificate?
Yes. You receive a Certificate of Completion and Training Record after completing all 24 lessons, knowledge checks, and the final exam. Give a copy to your employer. Under OHS Regulation section 3.27(9), the employer must keep its training record until 2 years after the person ceases to be a committee member or representative. The course record does not by itself prove compliance or committee effectiveness.
Can employers purchase training for a whole committee?
Yes. Employers can buy online training for two or more learners on this page. After placing your order, complete our Group Training Student Information form with your order number and each learner’s details so we can set up their accounts.
Does this course cover workplaces outside BC?
No. It covers joint committees under BC’s Workers Compensation Act and OHS Regulation. Federally regulated workplaces in BC fall under the Canada Labour Code instead. For Alberta, see our Joint Health and Safety Committee Training Alberta course.
Additional BC Joint Committee Resources
These official sources sit behind this JHSC training. Always read the current versions on worksafebc.com.
Workers Compensation Act, Part 2
Issued by: WorkSafeBC
The OHS provisions of the Act, including joint committees in sections 31 to 46.
Workers Compensation Act, Part 2
OHS Regulation, Part 3
Issued by: WorkSafeBC
Inspections, investigations, refusal of unsafe work, committee evaluations and training.
OHS Regulation, Part 3: Rights and Responsibilities
Joint committee law and policy
Issued by: WorkSafeBC
WorkSafeBC’s list of the sections that apply to committees.
Joint health and safety committees: law and policy
Joint committee member training
Issued by: WorkSafeBC
Mandatory training and educational leave for committee members.
Joint health and safety committee member training
JHSC Evaluation Tool
Issued by: WorkSafeBC
WorkSafeBC’s free tool for the annual committee evaluation.
JHSC Evaluation Tool
Related courses: Online Inspection Training, Incident Reporting and Investigation Training, Hazard Assessment and Control for Canadian Workplaces and Understanding Canadian OH&S Legislation.
