Workplace investigations help employers and workers understand what happened, why it happened, and what needs to change. A fair, thorough process can identify contributing factors, address hazards, and help prevent a similar incident or concern from happening again.
In long-term care and home support, an investigation may follow an injury, a near miss, equipment failure, a report of unsafe conditions, a refusal of unsafe work, a workplace violence incident, or another health and safety concern. The process will depend on what happened. Some incidents must be reported to WorkSafeBC immediately and investigated under the Workers Compensation Act. Other concerns follow different investigation procedures.
What is a workplace investigation?
A workplace investigation is a structured, fact-finding process. It examines the people, equipment, environment, work procedures, training, supervision, and organizational conditions related to an incident or concern.
The goal is not to assign blame. It is to:
- identify hazards and contributing factors
- determine what corrective action is needed
- prevent the incident or concern from happening again
- meet applicable legal and organizational requirements
An investigation is one part of the response. Immediate care, hazard control, reporting, corrective action, communication, and follow-up also matter.
Why workplace investigations matter
Workplace investigations can help a workplace:
- identify hazards and underlying causes
- prevent injuries, incidents, and near misses from recurring
- improve equipment, procedures, training, staffing practices, or supervision
- meet regulatory requirements
- show workers that reports and concerns are taken seriously
- build accountability through clear action and follow-up
For workers, a reliable process can make it easier to speak up and understand what happens after a report. For leaders, the findings can point to changes that reduce risk across the organization, not only where the incident occurred.
Incidents that require immediate notification to WorkSafeBC
An employer must immediately notify WorkSafeBC when an incident involves:
- serious injury to, or the death of, a worker
- a major structural failure or collapse of a building, bridge, tower, crane, hoist, temporary construction support system, or excavation
- a major release of a hazardous substance
- a fire or explosion that had the potential to cause serious injury to a worker
- a blasting incident that caused personal injury
- a dangerous incident involving explosives, whether or not anyone was injured
First, address hazards that could put others at risk and make sure anyone who is injured receives prompt first aid and medical treatment. Then call the WorkSafeBC Prevention Information Line at 604.276.3100 in the Lower Mainland or 1.888.621.7233 toll-free.
Unless WorkSafeBC or a peace officer directs otherwise, do not disturb the incident scene except to attend to an injured or deceased person, prevent further injury or death, or protect endangered property.
Immediate notification is separate from claims reporting. Submitting an Employer's Report of Injury or Occupational Disease does not replace the requirement to notify WorkSafeBC immediately when a serious or reportable incident occurs.
When must an employer investigate an incident?
Under the Workers Compensation Act, an employer must investigate an incident that involved:
- any incident that requires immediate notification to WorkSafeBC
- an injury that required medical treatment
- a minor injury, or no injury, that had the potential to cause serious injury
- a diving incident as defined by the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
This includes near misses that could have caused serious injury. A near miss is useful information: it can reveal a hazard before someone is hurt.
Equipment or machine failures, structural or property damage, hazardous substance releases, workplace violence incidents, and other events may require an incident investigation when they meet one of the conditions above. For example, assess a ceiling lift failure based on what occurred, whether anyone was injured, and whether the event could have caused serious injury. If there is uncertainty about immediate notification or investigation requirements, contact WorkSafeBC.
Other concerns employers may need to investigate
Not every workplace investigation is an employer incident investigation under the Workers Compensation Act. The requirements are different for each type of concern. Use the procedure that applies and protect privacy where needed.
Employers may also need to investigate or respond to:
- reports of unsafe or harmful conditions
- improper activity or conduct that may affect workplace health and safety
- indoor air quality complaints or specified changes to the space or ventilation system
- workplace bullying and harassment
- health and safety concerns raised by a worker, committee, union, or regulatory body
Refusal of unsafe work
Workers in British Columbia have the right and responsibility to refuse work when they have reasonable cause to believe it would create an undue hazard to themselves or others. The worker must immediately report the unsafe condition to their supervisor or employer, who must investigate right away.
If the matter is not resolved at the first step, the next investigation must involve the worker and an appropriate worker representative. If it remains unresolved, both the worker and the employer or supervisor must notify WorkSafeBC.
Use our Refusal of unsafe work toolkit for employers, flowchart, and safety huddle to review the three-step process with your team.
Workplace bullying and harassment
Employers must have procedures for responding to reports or incidents of workplace bullying and harassment. These procedures must explain how and when investigations will take place, who is involved, what follow-up is required, and how records will be maintained.
An investigation should be prompt, fair, impartial, and focused on facts. Share information only as needed and protect privacy as much as possible. Bullying and harassment investigations follow a distinct process. Employers should not submit an Employer Incident Investigation Report to WorkSafeBC for a psychological injury related to bullying and harassment unless a WorkSafeBC officer requests it.
How an incident investigation works
For incidents that must be investigated under the Workers Compensation Act, the employer process has four stages.
- Preliminary investigation
Within 48 hours of the incident, identify the unsafe conditions, acts, or procedures that significantly contributed to what happened. Determine what needs to be addressed so work can continue safely while the full investigation is underway.
- Interim corrective actions
Take reasonable action without undue delay to prevent a similar incident during the full investigation. This might include removing equipment from service, changing a work process, adding supervision, or temporarily stopping part of the work.
- Full investigation
Examine the sequence of events and the factors that allowed the incident to occur. Look beyond the immediate event. Consider equipment, maintenance, work design, staffing, communication, training, supervision, policies, the physical environment, and other system conditions that may have contributed.
A full investigation report must generally be submitted to WorkSafeBC within 30 days of the incident. It must also be provided to the joint occupational health and safety committee or worker health and safety representative, as applicable. If there is no committee or representative, the report must be posted at the workplace, with attention to privacy.
- Full corrective actions
Document the corrective actions, who is responsible for each action, and when each one was completed. Follow up to confirm the changes are in place and are reducing the risk as intended.
Who takes part in an incident investigation?
The people conducting the investigation must understand the type of work involved when the incident occurred. An employer or employer representative participates, and a worker representative must also participate if they are reasonably available.
Depending on the workplace and the incident, participants may include:
- a worker representative from the joint occupational health and safety committee
- a worker health and safety representative or another worker selected by workers
- a supervisor or manager who understands the work
- an occupational health and safety professional
- human resources personnel
- equipment, maintenance, infection prevention, or other technical specialists
The employer remains responsible for meeting investigation and reporting requirements. Joint committee members can contribute their knowledge of the work, participate in the investigation, review incident reports, recommend safety improvements, and monitor corrective actions.
For sensitive matters, including bullying, harassment, violence, or psychological harm, the investigator must also consider impartiality, confidentiality, trauma-aware communication, and any need for specialized expertise.
What should an investigation examine?
A useful investigation looks beyond a single action or decision. Ask:
- What happened before, during, and after the incident?
- What work was being done, and under what conditions?
- Were the equipment, tools, and environment suitable and in good condition?
- Were the procedures practical, understood, and followed?
- Were workers given appropriate information, training, supervision, time, and support?
- Did workload, staffing, scheduling, communication, or work design contribute?
- Had similar concerns, incidents, or near misses been reported before?
- What needs to change now, and how will the workplace confirm that the change works?
Use interviews, observations, records, photographs, equipment information, policies, training records, and other relevant evidence. Keep an open mind, document the facts, and avoid conclusions based on assumptions.
What workers can expect
Workers may be asked to describe what they saw, heard, did, or experienced. Share the facts as clearly as you can, including conditions that made the work harder or less safe. If you are unsure about something, say so.
Workers can also:
- report hazards, incidents, and near misses as soon as possible
- ask how the concern will be investigated and how follow-up will be communicated
- participate as a worker representative when selected and reasonably available
- bring forward relevant records or previous reports
- ask whether corrective actions have been completed
- follow the formal refusal-of-unsafe-work process when work presents an undue hazard
Speaking up is part of workplace health and safety. Workers should not be blamed for reporting a hazard, injury, near miss, or unsafe condition.
Turning findings into safer work
An investigation is not complete when the report is written. Corrective actions should address the factors that contributed to the incident, assign clear responsibility, and include realistic completion dates.
The employer and joint committee or worker representative should review progress and check whether each action is working. If the change does not control the hazard, revise it. You may also need to share lessons with other teams, sites, or service areas facing the same risk.
Prepare before an incident happens
Review your reporting and investigation procedures with workers, supervisors, and joint committee members. Make sure people know who to contact, who can serve as a worker representative, how to protect an incident scene, and where investigation records are kept.
Start with the employer incident investigation guide and our refusal-of-unsafe-work resources below. Use them to check your process, clarify roles, and discuss what your team would do if a serious incident or safety concern were reported today.
