Who needs basic health and safety awareness training in Ontario?

Every worker covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act must complete a basic awareness program as soon as practicable after starting work, and every supervisor must complete one within one week of supervising (O. Reg. 297/13).

Is the training one-time or annual?

One-time. There is no annual refresher requirement, though the employer must keep records and provide written proof of completion to a worker on request for up to six months after they leave.

Can workers skip it if they were trained at a previous employer?

Yes — a worker or supervisor who can verify prior completion of an equivalent awareness program is exempt. Keep proof of the exemption on file; Ethica lets you record an exemption instead of re-assigning.

Does this replace job-specific safety training?

No. Awareness training is a baseline. Hazard-specific duties — WHMIS, working at heights, and similar — still apply depending on your workplace.

Ontario compliance

Worker & Supervisor Health and Safety Awareness Training (Ontario)

Meet O. Reg. 297/13 basic awareness training requirements for workers and supervisors with the official Ministry of Labour workbooks — and produce the completion record on demand when the Ministry of Labour asks.

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What O. Reg. 297/13 requires

Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training regulation (O. Reg. 297/13, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act) sets a baseline for every provincially regulated workplace:

Every worker must complete a basic occupational health and safety awareness program as soon as practicable after starting work (s. 1). It's one-time, and workers who can verify equivalent prior training are exempt.
Every supervisor must complete a supervisor awareness program within one week of performing work as a supervisor (s. 2).

Employers must keep a record of the training and, on request, provide written proof to a worker for up to six months after they leave. The Ministry of Labour publishes official workbooks — Worker Health and Safety Awareness in 4 Steps and Supervisor Health and Safety Awareness in 5 Steps — that cover the required content.

How Ethica delivers it

Two ready-made courses built on the official ministry workbooks, each with a documented completion record.

Worker Health & Safety Awareness (4 Steps)

O. Reg. 297/13, s. 1

The Ministry of Labour's mandatory basic occupational health and safety awareness workbook for every worker in Ontario.

Supervisor Health & Safety Awareness (5 Steps)

O. Reg. 297/13, s. 2

The Ministry of Labour's awareness workbook for supervisors, required within one week of performing work as a supervisor.

Each employee receives the workbook by email link, reads it, and signs a tracked acknowledgment. Ethica records who completed it and when — your record of training under the regulation — and chases stragglers with automatic reminders. The worker course assigns itself to everyone, including future hires; the supervisor course you assign to the right people (or target it with a smart rule for your supervisor role).

Frequently asked questions

Who needs basic health and safety awareness training in Ontario?: Every worker covered by the Occupational Health and Safety Act must complete a basic awareness program as soon as practicable after starting work, and every supervisor must complete one within one week of supervising (O. Reg. 297/13).
Is the training one-time or annual?: One-time. There is no annual refresher requirement, though the employer must keep records and provide written proof of completion to a worker on request for up to six months after they leave.
Can workers skip it if they were trained at a previous employer?: Yes — a worker or supervisor who can verify prior completion of an equivalent awareness program is exempt. Keep proof of the exemption on file; Ethica lets you record an exemption instead of re-assigning.
Does this replace job-specific safety training?: No. Awareness training is a baseline. Hazard-specific duties — WHMIS, working at heights, and similar — still apply depending on your workplace.

If you were asked to prove it tomorrow

Delivering the training is half of what the law asks. The other half is being able to show, on demand, exactly who completed it and when.

Worker health & safety awareness: A training record you must keep, and written proof you must hand a worker on request for up to six months after they leave (O. Reg. 297/13, s. 5)
Supervisor health & safety awareness: A training record dated inside the one-week window — the gap an inspector can spot fastest after a promotion or a new hire

Ethica keeps that record for you — every completion timestamped against the employee, exportable to CSV or PDF certificates the moment someone asks.

From nothing to an audit-ready record

No SCORM uploads, no course authoring, no learner accounts. Ethica does the setup — you just add your people.

Launch the course

One click creates every requirement, pre-configured with due dates that match the mandate.

Add your team

Add employees one by one or import a CSV. Everyone is assigned automatically — including future hires, so the record never develops a gap.

Export the proof

Ask "who is overdue on this?" and get the answer in seconds. Export completions to CSV, or download certificates per employee.

Be able to prove it by Friday

Start a free 30-day trial, launch the course in one click, and invite your team. That's the whole setup.

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Workbook published by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Ethica is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Government of Ontario.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations against the current text of the legislation.