Does my organisation need to establish a health and safety committee in the workplace?
This pretty much follows the answer as provided above regarding HSRs, except it is covered in S.31 of the Act. A committee is not necessarily needed until one has been requested from a group of [at least five] employees, a majority of employees or a HSR. The employer must respond to this request which generally means establishing at least one health and safety committee within two months. There are rules for the make up of the committee (eg: more employee members than managers) which are outlined in the Regulations. Legally, the committee must also meet at least once every three months or at other times which are set out in the Act and Regulations although it is recommended more frequent meetings are held (eg: monthly). A quorum of half the membership must also attend the meeting for it to be effective and recognised as a proper committee meeting. Committees are established to oversee strategic or big picture issues for the organisation, they are not there to cover smaller issues that
