Yukon Working Alone and Safety Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Yukon's safety law and who enforces it

This course explains the Yukon rules that protect guards and other workers who work alone. It is a knowledge course, not legal advice.

Since July 1, 2022, Yukon's main law is the Workers' Safety and Compensation Act. It replaced the old Workers' Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Act. The law is run by the Workers' Safety and Compensation Board (WSCB), which used to be called the Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board. The WSCB also publishes Yukon's occupational health and safety regulations.

Employer and worker duties

Under section 27, every employer must, as far as is reasonably practicable, keep the workplace safe, tell workers about hazards and their rights, train and supervise them, and provide protective equipment. Under section 29, workers must take care of their own safety and others', follow safe work procedures, use protective equipment, and report unsafe acts or conditions and other hazards to their supervisor or employer.

Lesson 2: Working alone under Yukon law

Some provinces have a regulation just for working alone, with set check-in rules. Yukon does not. Its regulations have no working-alone part. Instead, Yukon relies on:

• Section 27(1)(f) of the Act: the employer must make efforts to check the health and safety of workers in situations when they might not be able to secure assistance after an injury or other misfortune.
• Hazard assessment (section 1.03.01): the employer must assess each workplace for hazards, in consultation with the committee or health and safety representative, or with the workers if neither is required. It must be repeated after a significant change in the work location or circumstances, after an incident involving a known hazard, or when the board orders it.
• First aid rules (Part 18), explained below.

Building a check-in plan

Yukon law does not set a check-in interval, so your employer chooses one based on the hazard assessment. A good plan includes:

• A named contact and a backup contact
• Check-in times that fit the risk, more often at night or at risky posts
• A code word for "I need help"
• What happens, step by step, if you miss a check-in
• A radio or phone that works at the post, or another option where coverage is poor

First aid when you are alone

• When one worker is on shift, a personal first-aid kit is required (Schedule 2).
• An isolated workplace is more than 40 minutes' surface travel time from a medical facility, or has no suitable all-weather road (section 18.01).
• The employer must provide a means of communication to summon emergency transportation (section 18.10(4)).
• A worker must report an injury as soon as practicable (section 18.03), and first aid records are kept for at least 3 years (section 18.14).

Lesson 3: Violence and harassment prevention

Lone guards deal with the public, often at night. Yukon's Part 19, Violence and Harassment Prevention, took effect on September 4, 2021. Under it, for each workplace, the employer must:

• Develop and carry out a written policy and procedures, in consultation with the committee, representative or workers (section 19.01)
• Train workers on them and provide adequate supervision
• Ensure an appropriate investigation of each incident and each complaint (section 19.04)
• Take reasonable precautions where a worker is likely to be exposed to domestic violence at work (section 19.05)

The policy must say that violence and harassment are prohibited, that every worker is entitled to work free of them, and that workers may complain to someone other than the employer if the employer is the alleged offender. It must also promise to keep names and details confidential except where needed.

The WSCB describes workplace violence as the threatened, attempted or actual use of physical force against a worker that is likely to cause harm, or to make the worker believe they will be harmed. Harassment covers objectionable comments or behaviour that a person knows, or should know, are unwelcome.

Lesson 4: Your rights and refusing unsafe work

Section 1(f) of the Act promotes three rights: the right to know about hazards, the right to participate in health and safety, and the right to refuse unsafe work.

How a refusal works in Yukon

1. Tell your supervisor or employer about the safety issue and your refusal right away.
2. They must investigate immediately and fix the problem or tell you why they think it is not unsafe. Stay at the workplace to answer questions.
3. If you still refuse, a second investigation takes place with you and a worker member of the committee or the representative, or a worker you choose if there is none.
4. If it is still not resolved, the employer must report it to the WSCB. A safety officer investigates and decides.
5. You may keep refusing until the work is made safe or a safety officer decides otherwise.

During a refusal, the employer may assign you other work, and you keep the same pay. You may not be threatened with discipline. That would be a reprisal, which the Act prohibits.

Committees and representatives

Lesson 5: Reporting injuries and serious incidents

1. Get medical care right away if you need it.
2. Tell your employer. The WSCB says a worker gives the employer written notice within a reasonable time, with the time, date, place, nature and cause of the injury.
3. The employer reports to the WSCB within 3 days of learning about the injury.
4. You may apply for compensation. You have up to 12 months, but apply as soon as possible.

Serious incidents

The employer or person responsible must report these to the WSCB immediately or as soon as reasonably practicable, by the 24-hour line 867-667-5450:

• A serious injury to, or the death of, a worker
• A worker admitted to hospital as an inpatient
• A major structural failure or collapse
• A major release of a hazardous substance
• An explosion or fire that could seriously injure or kill someone

The WSCB says serious incidents must be reported even when no one is hurt. The employer must then investigate.