Worker Safety in Nova Scotia
Every year thousands of Nova Scotians are hurt on the job. It doesn’t have to be that way. By embracing safety and making it a fundamental part of how we operate, we can make workplace injuries a thing of the past.
Contact Centre Nova Scotia partners with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB) who provide workplace insurance to more than 300,000 Nova Scotians. That insurance is funded 100 per cent by employers contributions. Workers are not required to pay for this insurance.
Safety is a Team Effort
Leadership is the most important safety tool. The WCB has resources to help our CCNS members. As an employer, your leadership will make safety a “way of life” in your workplace. Talk about it at meetings, make sure your people are using the right safety gear, invest in training and set up a Health and Safety Committee.
Learn more about Safety and Leadership with these reports below:
- A Guide To Workplace Safety Leadership
- A Comprehensive Workplace Safety Resource Manual
- Workplace Safety Toolkit
- What Matters Most
Safety is a team effort but if you don’t lead, your employees can’t follow.
It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s the right thing to do for the bottom line. Safe workplaces are productive workplaces.
Benefits of the WCB
If an employee is hurt on the job, workplace insurance will provide income replacement benefits, health care, vocational rehabilitation and return-to-work assistance.
The WCB has created a comprehensive brochure that helps you spot the hazards and with a few simple changes, reduce the likelihood of future injuries.
Why Worry about Safety Prevention?
Nova Scotia is getting safer. In the past decade, the number of workplace injuries have fallen by 30 per cent. Yet there are still too many people getting hurt on the job. There were more than 6,000 serious injuries in 2015. That is simply unacceptable.
Workplace safety is a team effort. Everyone from front line workers to the top managers must embrace safety – if something can’t be done safely it shouldn’t be done at all.
Learn what the cost of an injury or accident in the workplace, click the image below to use the online calculator and determine what an incident will cost your company or business.
Slips, trips and falls are a major cause of injuries for Nova Scotia workers.
- More than 1,500 Nova Scotians were injured seriously enough when they slipped and fell at work last year to require time off to recover.
- Slips, trips and falls were the second highest injury event in 2015, with 3,582 total claims.
- 25.5% of all time-loss claims in 2015 were caused by a slip, trip or fall.
- The average cost of benefits for time-loss claims due to a work-related slip, trip, or fall is $7,341.
- On average, each slip, trip and fall injury results in 92 days lost from work.
This is why we need Safety Prevention Programs
We all need to take the lead and make our contact centres a safe place to work. With good leadership you can make it happen.
The WCB offers an eight step process that will help you make working safe a top-of-mind concern throughout your organization. These eight steps give you the basics for starting an effective and sustainable health and safety program.
Learn more on the WCB website about how to Create a Safety Prevention Program.
Here is more information on preventing injuries in the workplace and keeping our employees in the contact centre industry safe.
Rod Stickman videos on workplace safety
The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia encourages all CCNS members and organizations to ensure you are creating a safe workplace for everyone. You can learn more on their website by visiting their at: www.WCB.NS.ca
To Learn more information you can also contact:
Lise Jeffrey
Relationship Manager
Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia
Direct Line: 902-483-3121
E-mail: lise.jeffrey@wcb.gov.ns.ca