Learn how a workplace safety committee enhances safety performance, ensures compliance, and engages employees. Explore its roles, setup steps, and legal context.
A workplace safety committee is an internal cross-functional team that includes representatives from various departments, established to support the organization’s environmental, health, and safety objectives. The group facilitates hazard identification, risk assessments, and corrective action planning through regular toolbox talks, safety audits, and root cause analyses.
The concept of forming a health and safety committee at work developed alongside modern occupational health and safety laws, which were driven by industrial accidents and growing awareness of workers’ rights. Aside from the fact that having this committee is mandated by law, this committee provides multiple benefits:
Enhanced hazard identification and control - Bringing together different perspectives and experiences helps uncover potential hazards more thoroughly. Collaboration leads to practical and more effective preventive measures and mitigation strategies.
Improved employee engagement - When workers are actively involved in the committee, they feel a greater sense of ownership over workplace safety. This involvement promotes stronger compliance with safety procedures and encourages proactive risk reporting.
Better incident managementand reduced injuries - By addressing hazards early and implementing effective controls, organizations foster a strong safety culture that reduces harm, lost workdays, and associated costs. This is the ultimate goal of committee efforts.
Workplace safety is everyone’s responsibility. The committee’s effectiveness hinges on the collaboration and dedication of its team members, each contributing unique perspectives and expertise. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what they do and their main responsibilities:
As the leader and facilitator of the committee, the chairperson guides discussions during safety meetings to focus on objectives, encourage participation from members, and ensure accountability.
Preside over meetings and set the agenda
Facilitate discussions and mediate conflicts
Ensures task assignment and tracking for timely completion
Accurate recordkeeping is vital to the workplace health and safety committee. The secretary provides a clear history of decisions, action items, and discussions, allowing for effective follow-ups.
Record accurate minutes of all meetings
Distribute the meeting agenda to members and invited stakeholders
Maintain organized records of all documents, reports, and communications
Department heads of different operational areas should be part of the occupational safety and health committee because they bridge the gap between the team’s findings and the practical realities of the operations.
Provide necessary resources for safety initiatives
Approve and support the recommendations for implementation
Communicate the plans to their departments
Considered the most crucial members, worker representatives provide firsthand insights into the daily operations, real-world challenges, and practical effectiveness of existing measures.
Represent the safety concerns and suggestions of their fellow workers
Actively participate in safety-related workflows
Communicate plans to other frontliners
The environmental, health, and safety advisor is the team’s technical expert. Every company should have a dedicated professional handling these tasks, upholding safety in all aspects of the organization.
Provide expert advice on regulations, industry standards, and best practices
Lead or assist in hazard identification, risk assessments, and incident investigations.
Develop and review procedures, training materials, toolbox topics, and emergency preparedness plans.
In many jurisdictions worldwide, occupational safety and health committees are legally mandated, highlighting that safety is a shared responsibility. The following section provides a brief overview of relevant country-specific regulations:
While OSHA emphasizes the employer’s role in maintaining a safe workplace, there’s no federal law that specifically prescribes the creation of a safety and health committee. Individual states have more specific requirements:
Oregon OSHA Rules (OAR) 437-001-0765
Washington Department of Labor and Industries -WAC 296-800-130
Minnesota Statutes 182.676
New York State’s Workplace Safety Committee Law -Section 27-d of NY Labor Law
California Code of Regulations (Cal/OSHA) Title 8, section 3203
The UK’s approach to occupational safety is fundamentally shaped by the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. To lessen ambiguities and confusion, the following were ratified:
The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (SRSCR) 1977 explicitly outlined the employer's duty to establish a safety committee, if requested in writing by safety representatives from recognized trade unions.
The Health and Safety (Consultation with Employees) Regulations 1996 required employers to consult with employees if there are no trade union-appointed representatives.
The country operates under the Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act, a national framework that harmonizes with state and territory-specific regulations. The WHS Act requires a “person conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBU) to establish a health and safety committee if requested by a health and safety representative or by five or more workers. The PCBU can also establish one voluntarily.
The occupational health and safety legislation of Canada is administered at both the federal and provincial or territorial levels:
The Canada Labor Code, Part II (Federal Jurisdiction), which governs federally regulated workplaces, mandates the establishment of joint health and safety committees (JHSCs) based on the number of employees.
Each province and territory has its own OHS Legislation, with varying thresholds and specifics for JHSCs, such as Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1) and British Columbia’s Workers Compensation Act (R.S.B.C. 1996).
Consistent with its broader legislative approach, the EU establishes the framework for health and safety, which member states subsequently transpose into their national laws. This particular directive notably emphasizes consultation, safety communication, and worker participation.
While many organizations recognize the value of a workplace safety committee, forming an effective one can be a struggle. When this happens, the opportunity to proactively manage safety risks is lost, making the company vulnerable to preventable incidents. Here are some challenges and how to overcome them:
Lack of management support - Without adequate resources, the team would not be able to function effectively and fail to drive cultural change within the company. To secure executive sponsorship, assign a senior leader as a visible advocate to attend meetings, champion safety, and allocate time and budget.
Unclear roles and responsibilities - Confusion results in unproductive meetings and unaddressed safety concerns. Establish a written charter that outlines duties, decision-making authority, meeting schedules, and reporting processes. Training is vital here as well.
Poor members selection - Committees dominated by management have limited insight into everyday risks since they lack frontline perspective. Include a diverse mix of employees from different levels and departments to build motivation and credibility.
Irregular or ineffective meetings - Momentum can be lost when meetings feel like a waste of time without follow-ups. Aside from preparing agendas early, automate scheduling and action item tracking to ensure nothing is overlooked.
Lack of follow-through on actions - Employees may think that nothing has changed when assigned tasks are unfulfilled. Use a centralized tracking system to monitor recommendations, assign responsibilities, and follow up on completion.
Mitti (by SafetyCulture) is a mobile-first operations platform adopted across industries, such as manufacturing, mining, construction, retail, and hospitality. It’s designed to equip leaders and working teams with the knowledge and tools to do their best work—to the safest and highest standard.
Enhance transparency and ensure readily available information for all safety committee members by centralizing the storage of safety records, meeting minutes, and action plans. Streamline the scheduling of safety meetings, delegation of action items, and ongoing progress tracking to boost accountability and ensure the timely completion of all safety-related tasks, preventing oversights. Facilitate communication within the safety team, fostering continuous alignment on critical safety issues and empowering the committee to make more effective and timely decisions for workplace safety through a unified platform.
✓ Save time and reduce costs ✓ Stay on top of risks and incidents ✓ Boost productivity and efficiency ✓ Enhance communication and collaboration ✓ Discover improvement opportunities ✓ Make data-driven business decisions
