Nova Scotia Working Alone and Safety Course: Lessons 2026

Lesson 1: Nova Scotia's safety law and who is responsible

The main law is the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act). It is enforced by the Occupational Health and Safety Division of the Department of Labour, Skills and Immigration.

Section 2 builds the Act on the Internal Responsibility System. Employers, supervisors, employees and others share responsibility for a safe workplace, each to the extent of their authority and ability. The Division clarifies duties, supports the workplace and steps in when duties are not met.

Who	Main duty
Employer (section 13)	Take every precaution that is reasonable in the circumstances to protect people at or near the workplace. Provide the information, instruction, training and supervision needed, and make employees familiar with the hazards they may meet.
Employee (section 17)	Take every reasonable precaution to protect your own health and safety, co-operate with the employer and co-workers, wear required protective equipment, and follow the Act and regulations.

Is there a working-alone rule?

Unlike Alberta and British Columbia, Nova Scotia has no separate working-alone regulation. That does not mean lone work is unregulated. The employer's general duty in section 13 still applies, along with the province's rules on workplace violence, harassment and first aid at isolated workplaces. The OHS Division also publishes a Lone Workers Information Guide on its website.

Lesson 2: Planning safe lone work

Because the law sets a general duty and not a checklist, good practice fills the gap. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) suggests employers assess the hazards of lone work and set up a way to check on workers. A good plan for a lone guard covers:

A hazard assessment of the post: people, location, time of day, weather and the work itself
A check-in schedule with a named contact, and a backup contact
A reliable way to call for help, tested at the start of each shift
What happens when a check-in is missed, step by step, ending with a call to 911
Training on the plan before you work alone

First aid at isolated sites

Part 4 of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations sets first aid rules. An isolated workplace is one where the surface travel time is 40 minutes or more (section 4.1). Under section 4.18, the employer must keep a written isolated workplace first aid plan for each one. It must cover how injured employees are transported out and how the site communicates with the outside.

Under section 4.2, an employee must report all injuries to the employer without undue delay, even small ones.

Lesson 3: Violence and harassment

Guards who work alone at night face a higher risk of violence. Nova Scotia's Violence in the Workplace Regulations require the employer to:

Do a violence risk assessment for each workplace and prepare a written report on it (section 5)
Set up a violence prevention plan where a significant risk is found, or when an officer orders one (section 7)
Give information about the risk to employees exposed to a significant risk of violence (section 10)

Section 12 says any person in a workplace has a duty to report all incidents of violence to the employer. Report threats as well as physical attacks.

Harassment rules since September 1, 2025

New harassment regulations under the OHS Act came into force on September 1, 2025. Every provincially regulated workplace must have a written harassment prevention policy. It must cover expected behaviour, how to report concerns and how complaints are investigated. Employers must protect confidentiality, ban retaliation, train staff on the policy and review it at least every three years. The province says harassment can include bullying, intimidation, threats and other unwanted behaviour that causes harm.

Lesson 4: Your right to know, participate and refuse

The right to know comes from section 13: the employer must tell you about hazards and train you. The right to participate comes through committees and representatives:

20 or more people regularly employed: a joint occupational health and safety committee (section 29)
5 to 19 people employed: employees select at least one health and safety representative (section 33)
Where 5 or more are regularly employed, the employer needs a written OHS policy; where 20 or more, a written OHS program (sections 27 and 28)

The right to refuse (sections 43 to 45)

If you have reasonable grounds to believe a task is likely to endanger your health or safety, you may refuse it.
Report it immediately to a supervisor.
If it is not fixed to your satisfaction, report it to the committee or representative, if there is one.
If it is still not fixed, report it to the OHS Division. An officer may investigate.

While you refuse, the employer may reassign you to other work, and you keep the same wages and benefits. The refused work may not be given to someone else unless that person is told about the refusal, the reason and their own right to refuse (section 44). Reprisals are banned, and the employer must prove any action was solely for legitimate business reasons (section 45).

Lesson 5: Reporting injuries and unsafe work

Who reports	To whom	When
Injured worker	Supervisor or employer	As soon as possible, even if the injury seems minor
Employer	WCB Nova Scotia (injury report)	WCB must receive it within 2 business days of the employer learning of an injury that needed medical treatment or caused lost time
Employer	OHS Division	Serious injuries: as soon as possible and within 24 hours. Deaths: immediately (OHS Act, section 63)

Serious injuries under section 63 include unconsciousness, a broken arm or leg, an amputation, a third-degree burn, loss of sight, and any injury that needs admission to hospital or endangers life.

For a serious injury, call 911 first. To report unsafe work or an injury to the province, call 1-800-9LABOUR (1-800-952-2687). The line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and calls about imminent danger get priority.