WSPS: Free Health & Safety Support for Small Businesses

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services provides health and safety resources, training and consulting to Ontario’s manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors, with a dedicated small business centre and no-cost support.

What It Is and Who It Serves

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services helps Ontario businesses and workers prevent workplace injuries and illnesses. It works across three sectors: manufacturing, agriculture and horticulture, and services (retail, restaurants, hospitality and more), and has helped Ontario businesses build safety programmes for over 100 years.

This is an explainer rather than a company profile, consistent with the CCOHS and Ontario.ca pieces in this series. It appears here because it addresses an obligation every Ontario employer carries, and because a substantial share of what it offers costs nothing.

The Free Support Is the Headline

The most actionable thing on the organization’s site is how much is available at no charge.

Ontario manufacturing, agriculture and services businesses can receive free health and safety support. There are free health and safety assessments, free workshops aimed specifically at small businesses managing hazards and understanding their responsibilities, eCourses offered free to Ontario employers, supervisors and workers, free Safety Connections webinars, and a free workplace violence risk assessment tool. Plus, there are over 1900 free resources available on WSPS.ca.

For a small employer, that combination covers most of what a first safety programme requires. The barrier to workplace safety compliance in small businesses is rarely unwillingness. It is not knowing where to start, not having anyone whose job it is, and assuming that getting help means paying a consultant.

The organization also runs a dedicated online Small Business Centre and an Agriculture and Horticulture Safety Centre, both recognising that a twelve-person shop and a farm operation face different problems than a large manufacturer encounters.

The Regulatory Calendar Matters More Than Most Owners Realise

One of the most useful things the organization publishes is advance notice of provincial inspection campaigns.

Ontario’s labour ministry runs sector-specific inspection blitzes, and the organization publishes what is coming with supporting webinars and resources. Its recent material covers agriculture inspections, retail material handling inspections, noise inspections and occupational hygiene inspections.

A business that knows a noise or material handling blitz is underway can check its own compliance and work on improvements beforehand.

Committees, Certification and the Question Every Employer Should Answer

The organization delivers Joint Health and Safety Committee certification, approved by Ontario’s Chief Prevention Officer, including a flexible eCourse format.

It also publishes guidance on a question many small employers get wrong: whether the business needs a safety committee or a health and safety representative at all. That requirement is triggered by workforce size, and businesses frequently cross the threshold without noticing.

Its wider material covers understanding the legislation, developing a health and safety policy and programme, investigating complaints, and handling inspections and investigations. The workplace violence obligation is stated plainly: Ontario employers have a legal duty under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to identify, assess and control workplace violence risks.

The Financial Argument

The organization publishes material under the heading of the business case for safety, and it is an argument worth engaging with rather than skipping.

It is also an approved provider for the WSIB Health and Safety Excellence programme, which offers financial incentives to employers who improve their safety performance. That turns safety investment into something with a measurable return rather than a cost centre, which is the framing most likely to move an owner who has deferred it.

Considering the essential safety support that’s available from WSPS, the answer is simple. Get in touch to learn more. Improve your business performance with that one step and take advantage of services you already pay for.

Website: wsps.ca

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Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information intended only for informational purposes. CanadianSME Small Business Magazine does not endorse or guarantee any products or services mentioned. Readers are advised to conduct their research and due diligence before making business decisions.