Employees in Alberta have the right to refuse dangerous work when they reasonably believe it presents a serious and immediate threat to their health or safety, or the safety of someone else.
Under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS Act), your employer must investigate a dangerous-work refusal and take appropriate steps to address the hazard. You are also protected from disciplinary action for properly exercising your workplace safety rights.
If your employer threatens, disciplines or fires you for refusing dangerous work, you may have legal options. Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-union employees in Calgary, Edmonton and across Alberta understand their rights following workplace retaliation or termination.
Need advice about your employment rights? Contact our Alberta employment law team or call 1-855-821-5900.
Reviewed by: Lior Samfiru, Employment Lawyer and National Co-Managing Partner
On This Page:
- 1. Your Right to Refuse
- 2. Examples of Unsafe Work
- 3. How to Refuse
- 4. Employer Responsibilities
- 5. Pay During a Refusal
- 6. Retaliation & Termination
- 7. Common Questions
Can You Refuse Unsafe Work in Alberta?
Yes. Section 17 of Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act gives workers the right to refuse work they reasonably believe presents an undue hazard.
An undue hazard is a serious and immediate threat to health or safety that the worker actually observes or experiences at the worksite.
You do not have to wait until someone is injured. However, not every uncomfortable, unpleasant or potentially risky situation qualifies for a formal dangerous-work refusal.
For example, a disagreement about workplace procedures may be a safety concern that your employer must address, without necessarily meeting the legal threshold for refusing work.
The right to refuse dangerous work is one of the fundamental protections under the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act.
What Are Examples of Unsafe Work in Alberta?
Situations that may justify refusing dangerous work include:
- Unsafe machinery: Operating equipment with damaged or missing essential safety protections.
- Fall hazards: Working at dangerous heights without required fall protection.
- Hazardous substances: Exposure to a serious and immediate chemical or gas danger.
- Unsafe structures: Working in an area threatened by a collapse or other immediate structural danger.
- Extreme temperatures: Working in heat or cold that creates a serious and immediate threat without adequate precautions.
- Other immediate dangers: Workplace conditions that present an undue hazard to employees or others.
The circumstances matter. The existence of a hazard does not automatically mean every employee can refuse every task. The seriousness and immediacy of the danger, and the protections in place, are important.
Can You Refuse to Work in Extreme Heat or Cold?
Potentially. Alberta does not have one general workplace temperature at which employees automatically gain the right to stop working.
If heat or cold creates an undue hazard, the dangerous-work refusal process may apply. Employers must assess the risks and take appropriate precautions.
Read our guide to extreme temperatures at work in Alberta for more information about heat, cold and employee rights.
How to Refuse Unsafe Work in Alberta
If you reasonably believe work presents an undue hazard, follow Alberta’s dangerous-work refusal process.
Step 1: Do Not Perform the Dangerous Work
You can refuse the particular work you reasonably believe presents an undue hazard. Take reasonable steps to avoid putting yourself or others in danger.
Step 2: Tell Your Employer or Supervisor Immediately
Promptly explain which work you are refusing and why you believe it is dangerous. Be specific about the hazard.
For example: “The equipment’s safety guard is broken, and I believe operating it could cause serious injury.”
Step 3: Allow Your Employer to Address the Hazard
Your employer must inspect the hazard and take appropriate corrective action. If the hazard can’t be fixed immediately, the employer must stop the affected work and follow the required investigation procedure.
Step 4: Review the Investigation Results
Where the hazard is not remedied immediately, the employer must document the refusal, inspection and corrective action in a written report and provide you with a copy.
Step 5: Contact Alberta OHS if the Danger Remains
If your employer has not corrected the problem, or you believe an undue hazard remains, contact the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Contact Centre.
Alberta OHS: 1-866-415-8690 (toll-free).
You can also review the province’s official dangerous-work refusal guidance.
What Must Your Employer Do if You Refuse Unsafe Work?
Alberta employers can’t simply dismiss a legitimate safety concern and demand that the employee continue without following the required process.
When an employee refuses dangerous work, the employer must:
- Inspect the reported hazard and remedy it immediately if possible.
- Stop the affected work and conduct the required inspection if the hazard can’t be remedied immediately.
- Discuss the concern with the refusing employee and involve the appropriate workplace safety representatives.
- Avoid resuming the work or assigning it to another worker until the required inspection is complete and the hazard has been remedied or found not to exist.
- Prepare a written report when required and provide copies to the appropriate parties.
If the employer determines that no undue hazard exists, it may direct the employee to resume the work. Employees who still believe the danger remains can contact Alberta OHS.
An employer’s disagreement with you does not automatically mean your refusal was improper. However, a work refusal must meet the legal requirements, and employees should not assume every safety disagreement permits them to stop working indefinitely.
Do You Still Get Paid if You Refuse Unsafe Work in Alberta?
Alberta’s OHS Act allows an employer to temporarily assign a worker who has refused dangerous work to another job, without a loss of pay. The employee must be capable of performing that temporary assignment.
The right to refuse dangerous work is not an automatic entitlement to leave work and receive unlimited paid time off.
If your employer reduces your wages, removes shifts or suspends you because you properly exercised your OHS rights, those actions may amount to prohibited disciplinary action.
Can You Be Fired for Refusing Unsafe Work in Alberta?
Employers can’t legally punish workers for properly exercising their rights under Alberta’s occupational health and safety legislation. This is considered a form of retalition or reprisal.
Prohibited disciplinary action may include:
- Firing, laying off or suspending an employee
- Reducing wages or scheduled hours
- Demoting or transferring an employee
- Threatening or intimidating an employee
- Issuing disciplinary warnings or reprimands
- Otherwise penalizing an employee for exercising OHS rights
These protections do not prevent employers from taking legitimate disciplinary action for reasons unrelated to an employee’s protected safety activities.
What Can You Do if Your Employer Retaliates?
Non-union employees may be able to file an OHS disciplinary-action complaint if they believe they were punished for exercising their workplace safety rights.
If a complaint is upheld, an OHS officer may order the employer to:
- Stop the prohibited disciplinary action
- Reinstate the employee to their previous position
- Pay lost wages and benefits
- Remove disciplinary records
- Take other appropriate corrective action
Learn about the process on Alberta’s OHS disciplinary-action complaints page.
What if You Were Fired After Refusing Dangerous Work?
If you were dismissed after raising a serious safety concern, you may have more than one legal issue to consider.
An OHS complaint addresses prohibited disciplinary action. Depending on your circumstances, you may also have employment-law rights arising from your termination, including a potential severance claim for as much as 24 months’ pay.
Read about wrongful dismissal in Alberta and severance pay in Alberta.
Refusing Unsafe Work in Alberta: Common Questions
Can I refuse unsafe work without being fired?
Alberta law protects employees from prohibited disciplinary action for properly exercising their workplace safety rights. If you are dismissed because of a protected dangerous-work refusal, you may have grounds for an OHS complaint and potentially other employment-law claims.
Can I refuse unsafe work if my employer says it is safe?
Your employer’s opinion does not automatically settle the issue. If you reasonably believe an undue hazard remains, follow the dangerous-work refusal process and contact Alberta OHS if the concern is unresolved.
Can my employer make someone else do the work I refused?
Not immediately. The employer must first complete the required hazard inspection and remedy the hazard or determine that no undue hazard exists before resuming the work or assigning another employee to it.
What if my workplace is unsafe but there is no immediate danger?
You must report unsafe or harmful conditions to your employer or supervisor. If the issue is not resolved, you can raise it with your workplace safety committee or representative, where applicable, and contact Alberta OHS.
A general safety concern does not necessarily qualify for a formal dangerous-work refusal.
Does the right to refuse unsafe work apply to office employees?
Yes. The right is not limited to construction or industrial workers. Employees in offices, retail and other provincially regulated workplaces may exercise it when the legal requirements are met.
Can unionized employees refuse dangerous work?
Yes. Unionized employees have workplace safety rights. However, complaints about prohibited disciplinary action must be pursued through their collective agreement’s grievance process. Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can’t represent unionized workers in employment law matters.
Do federally regulated employees have the same rights?
Federally regulated employees, including many bank and telecommunications workers, have separate dangerous-work refusal protections under the Canada Labour Code. The federal process differs from Alberta’s provincial OHS process.
Get Legal Advice if You Were Punished for Refusing Unsafe Work
If your employer fired, suspended, threatened or disciplined you after refusing dangerous work, do not assume that you have no options.
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP helps non-union employees in Calgary, Edmonton and across Alberta understand their rights following workplace retaliation, dismissal and other employment disputes.
Before you resign, accept a severance package or sign a release, always check first.
Or call 1-855-821-5900.