Policy - Right to Refuse Unsafe Work and Stop-Work Authority

Format. Adopt as a policy approved by the fire chief or council. Do not adopt the statutory part (section 5.1) as an SOG; it restates a legal right and must carry policy authority. The stop-work authority (5.2) and the emergency-operations clause (5.3) may also be reproduced in the Emergency Operations Safety SOG.

Drafting conventions. Shall means mandatory. Should means expected unless a documented reason exists. May means permitted. Placeholders in double curly braces, such as {{Department}}, are completed by the department. Drafting notes appear in callouts and are removed before adoption.

What to keep intact. The statutory steps in 5.1 as your jurisdiction’s section of J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection confirms them; the no-reprisal clause (5.4); the stop-work authority of every member (5.2.1); the rule that every refusal and stop-work call is reviewed for learning (5.5); the records clause (section 8).

What to adapt. Role titles; how the JOHSC worker member is reached at any hour; the emergency-operations clause to match your jurisdiction’s rule (J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection); the forms.

1.1 To state plainly that every member of {{Department}} has the statutory right to refuse work they have reasonable grounds to believe is likely to endanger themselves or another person, to set out the steps that follow a refusal, and to state the department’s own stop-work authority, which is broader than the statutory right and applies to every member at every incident, training evolution and workplace task.

1.2 To make sure that a member who refuses or stops work in good faith is never worse off for it, and that every refusal and stop-work call is treated as information the department learns from.

2.1 This policy applies to every member: career, volunteer, paid-on-call, probationary, civilian and student, and to contractors and mutual-aid partners while under the department’s incident management system or in its workplaces.

2.2 It applies in the station, on the training ground, on the road, and at emergency incidents, subject to the emergency-operations clause in 5.3 and the law of the department’s province or territory (J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection).

2.3 The statutory right to refuse (5.1) is the member’s own and cannot be removed by this policy, an SOG, an order or an agreement. The stop-work authority (5.2) is the department’s own and is in addition to the statutory right.

• Emergency operations: operations at an emergency incident from dispatch to demobilization.
• Imminent danger: a hazard that could cause death or serious injury before it can be corrected through normal means.
• JOHSC worker member: a worker-side member of the joint occupational health and safety committee, or the health and safety representative where the department has one instead.
• Learning review: review of an event under Incident Investigation and Learning Program, at the tier set by triage.
• Reasonable grounds: an honest belief, held in good faith, that a reasonable person with the member’s training and information could share; the member does not have to be right.
• Refusal: a member’s exercise of the statutory right to refuse work that the member has reasonable grounds to believe is likely to endanger their own or another person’s health or safety.
• Regulator: the occupational health and safety authority for the department’s province or territory, or for a federal workplace the federal authority, and its officers (J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement).
• Reprisal: any dismissal, discipline, demotion, loss of pay or benefit, reassignment to less favourable duty, threat, or other adverse treatment because a member exercised a right or a duty under this policy or the statute.
• Stop-work call: any member’s call to stop, pause or alter an activity because it looks unsafe, under the department’s stop-work authority, whether or not it meets the statutory test.
• Supervisor: the officer directing the member’s work at the time: company officer, training officer, incident commander, or the officer in charge of the station.

1. People are the solution we build around, not the problem to fix. A member who stops a task has given the department information it did not have. The first response is thanks, then action.

2. Procedures describe work as done, written with the people who do it. A refusal or a stop-work call that reveals a procedure nobody can follow is a reason to fix the procedure.

3. Learning comes before blame, and learning information is never used for discipline. Every refusal and stop-work call is reviewed for learning under the learning firewall; none is reviewed for fault.

4. Psychological safety is a condition of safety, so speaking up is expected and protected. The most junior member on the crew has the same authority to stop work as the most senior. Deference goes to whoever can see the hazard, not to rank.

5. Decisions are judged by their quality, not their outcome. A refusal or stop-work call made in good faith on the information available is a good decision even if the hazard turns out to be less than it looked.

6. The statute governs. Nothing in this policy narrows the statutory right or its protections, and the statutory steps are followed exactly as the applicable statute sets them.

7. Command remains accountable. The stop-work authority is a tool of the incident management system, not an exception to it; the incident commander remains accountable for the incident and acts on every call.

5.1.1 Every member may refuse to do work, or to use or operate a tool, equipment, apparatus or facility, if the member has reasonable grounds to believe that doing so is likely to endanger the member’s own health or safety or that of another person. Accountable: fire chief.

5.1.2 Step 1: report to the supervisor. The member shall tell the supervisor at once that they are refusing and why. The member may stay in a safe place near the work. The supervisor shall not assign another member to the work without telling that member of the refusal and the reason. Accountable: supervisor.

5.1.3 Step 2: supervisor investigates with the member. The supervisor shall investigate immediately in the presence of the member and of a JOHSC worker member (or the health and safety representative, or where neither is available at once, a member chosen by the refusing member). The supervisor shall remedy the hazard if one is found, and shall record the investigation and the result on Form - Work Refusal Record. Accountable: supervisor.

5.1.4 Step 3: if unresolved, the JOHSC worker member investigates. If the member continues to refuse after step 2 on reasonable grounds, the matter goes to the JOHSC worker member (or co-chairs together, as the applicable statute provides), who investigates and advises. Accountable: JOHSC co-chairs.

5.1.5 Step 4: if still unresolved, the regulator is called. If the refusal continues, the supervisor or the member shall notify the regulator (J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement), whose officer investigates and issues a decision. The refusal continues until the hazard is remedied, the committee or representative investigates and advises the member that the work is safe, or the regulator’s officer investigates and decides. Accountable: senior officer responsible for health and safety.

5.1.6 Pay and assignment. The member shall continue to be paid (or credited, for a volunteer) during the refusal. The department may assign the member to other reasonable work in the meantime. Another member may be assigned to the refused work only after being told of the refusal and the reasons, and that member has the same right to refuse. Accountable: supervisor.

5.1.7 Reasonable grounds, not certainty. A member exercising the right in good faith is protected whether or not the hazard is confirmed. Accountable: fire chief.

5.2.1 Every member has the authority and the duty to stop, pause or alter an activity they believe presents an imminent danger to themselves or any other person, and to tell the supervisor at once. The call is made in plain words: the hazard, then the action (“Stop. Hold the ladder. The butt is on ice.”). Accountable: company officer.

5.2.2 The incident safety officer has the authority to alter, suspend or terminate any activity at an incident that presents an imminent hazard, and shall tell the incident commander immediately. Accountable: incident commander.

5.2.3 The health and safety officer has the authority to stop any activity in any workplace, including training, that presents an imminent hazard, and reports directly to the fire chief. Accountable: fire chief.

5.2.4 The training safety officer has the authority to stop any training evolution, and every instructor has the authority to stop their own evolution, when a hazard is seen; evolutions do not resume until the training safety officer confirms the hazard is controlled. Accountable: training division.

5.2.5 The officer’s reply. The supervisor who receives a stop-work call shall acknowledge it aloud, act on it (stop, hold, alter, or explain why the activity is safe to continue and confirm the member agrees), and record it. A supervisor shall never answer a stop-work call with silence, ridicule or an order to continue without an explanation the member accepts. Accountable: company officer.

5.2.6 A stop-work call that is not resolved at the scene is treated as a refusal under 5.1 and the statutory steps begin. Accountable: supervisor.

5.3.1 The statutory right to refuse applies at emergency incidents to the extent the applicable statute provides (J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection). Where the statute limits the right for firefighters in emergency operations, the department’s stop-work authority in 5.2 is not limited and remains available to every member. Accountable: fire chief.

5.3.2 At an incident, a refusal or stop-work call is made to the member’s company officer or directly to the incident commander or incident safety officer by radio or face to face. The incident commander shall act on it within the incident action plan: withdraw, hold, change tactics, assign the incident safety officer to assess, or explain the risk assessment and confirm the member accepts it. Accountable: incident commander.

5.3.3 The incident commander’s risk assessment governs tactical decisions, and the department’s rules of engagement in Emergency Operations Safety Program apply: no member is required to risk their life for lives or property that cannot be saved, limited risk is accepted for savable property, and measured risk is accepted for savable lives. A refusal that is consistent with the rules of engagement is a correct application of them. Accountable: incident commander.

5.3.4 Where a refusal at an incident is not resolved on scene, the member is reassigned to safe duties, the incident continues under the incident commander’s accountability, and the statutory steps in 5.1 are completed as soon as the incident allows, with the JOHSC worker member and, if needed, the regulator. Accountable: incident commander.

5.3.5 Every refusal and stop-work call at an incident is reviewed for learning under 5.5. The review examines the quality of the decision on the information available, never the outcome alone. Accountable: senior officer responsible for health and safety.

5.4.1 No member shall be dismissed, disciplined, demoted, reassigned to less favourable duty, denied pay, benefit, credit or opportunity, threatened or otherwise treated adversely because they refused unsafe work, made a stop-work call, took part in an investigation of a refusal, or raised a safety concern, in good faith. Accountable: fire chief.

5.4.2 A member who believes they have suffered reprisal may raise it with the JOHSC worker co-chair, the senior officer responsible for health and safety, the fire chief, their bargaining agent or volunteer association, or the regulator, as the statute provides (J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection). The department shall respond in writing within ten working days. Accountable: fire chief.

5.4.3 Reprisal by any officer is a conduct concern under {{Conduct policy}}. Accountable: fire chief.

5.5.1 Every refusal and every stop-work call shall be reported under Policy - Incident, Injury, Exposure and Near-Miss Reporting and Investigation and triaged within 24 hours. A refusal or stop-work call resolved at the scene is reviewed at Tier 1 (After-Action Review); one not resolved at the scene is reviewed at Tier 2 (Post-Incident Analysis). Accountable: senior officer responsible for health and safety.

5.5.2 The learning firewall applies. The review asks what the member saw, what the hazard was, how the officer replied, and what the department can change. It makes no finding about the member or the officer. Accountable: sponsor.

5.5.3 The member who refused or stopped work shall hear from the health and safety officer within 30 days what the review found and what changed. Accountable: health and safety officer.

5.5.4 The JOHSC shall receive every refusal record and review outcome at its next meeting and shall check annually that no refusal or stop-work call was followed by reprisal. Accountable: JOHSC co-chairs.

5.6.1 The department shall recognize good stop-work calls and good withdrawals in the same way it recognizes other good operational decisions, including in its awards criteria. Accountable: fire chief.

Only the differences from 01 Roles and Responsibilities are recorded here.

6.1 Fire chief. Guarantees the no-reprisal clause; answers reprisal complaints in writing within ten working days; includes good stop-work calls in recognition.

6.2 Senior officer responsible for health and safety (policy owner). Ensures a JOHSC worker member can be reached at any hour; makes or oversees regulator notification at step 4; ensures every refusal is triaged and reviewed.

6.3 Incident commanders. Act on every refusal and stop-work call within the incident action plan; apply the rules of engagement; complete the statutory steps as soon as the incident allows.

6.4 Incident safety officers, health and safety officer, training safety officers, instructors. Hold and exercise the express stop-work authority in 5.2.

6.5 Supervisors. Receive refusals and stop-work calls as 5.2.5 requires; investigate with the member and the JOHSC worker member; never assign the refused work to another member without telling them; record on the form.

6.6 Members. Know the right and the steps; make stop-work calls in plain words; stay available in a safe place; may be accompanied at every step.

6.7 JOHSC worker members. Attend step 2 investigations; conduct step 3; receive every record; check annually for reprisal.

6.8 Bargaining agents and volunteer association. May accompany the member at every step; consulted on this policy.

• Incident Investigation and Learning Program (triage, tiers, firewall)
• Emergency Operations Safety Program (rules of engagement, incident safety officer authority, withdrawal and emergency traffic procedures)
• Training Safety and Live Fire Program (training safety officer authority)
• Every safe work procedure in 06 Safe Work Procedures carries a “Speak up” callout stating the stop-work authority for that task
• Form - Work Refusal Record
• The statutory steps for each province and territory in J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection, and the regulator contacts in J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement

8.1 Every refusal and every stop-work call not resolved by an immediate “yes” is recorded on Form - Work Refusal Record: who refused (role), what work, the grounds, the supervisor’s investigation and result, the JOHSC worker member’s involvement, regulator involvement, interim assignment, resolution, and the learning review tier.

8.2 Records are kept in {{Records system}} with the event file, for the period in 05 Document Control and Records. They are never placed in a personnel file.

8.3 Records are written for freedom-of-information disclosure: roles, not names; conditions, not character. The regulator receives the record on request as the statute provides.

8.4 The learning review of a refusal is learning information under the firewall in Policy - Incident, Injury, Exposure and Near-Miss Reporting and Investigation section 8.

9.1 To the fire chief: every refusal that reaches step 3, the same day; every reprisal complaint, the same day; counts and outcomes quarterly.

9.2 To the JOHSC: every refusal record and stop-work record at the next meeting; the annual reprisal check.

9.3 To council or the board: counts, outcomes and lessons, aggregated, in the annual health and safety report.

9.4 To members: the member who refused hears the result within 30 days; lessons go out in change notices and bulletins; the count of stop-work calls made and reviewed without reprisal is published quarterly as a psychological-safety indicator.

11.1 The applicable occupational health and safety statute, which differs by province and territory: the right to refuse, its test and any limit for firefighters in emergency operations, the steps that follow, continuation of pay, assignment of other workers, and the prohibition of reprisal with its complaint route (J07 Right to Refuse and Reprisal Protection); the committee’s or representative’s part in the investigation (J05 Joint Committee and Health and Safety Representative); and the regulator and how to reach it at any hour (J01 OHS Legislation, Regulator and Enforcement). The Jurisdiction requirements table at the end of this policy lists what to confirm for your province or territory.

11.2 Responder health and safety standard: the incident safety officer’s authority to alter, suspend or terminate an activity that presents an imminent hazard; risk management during emergency operations (NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 5 and 10).

11.3 Management-system standard: workers’ ability to remove themselves from work situations they consider dangerous without reprisal; consultation and participation (ISO 45001:2018, cl. 5.4 and 8.1); the Canadian adoption (CSA Z45001:19).

11.4 The rules of engagement for structural firefighting, including the firefighter’s duty to report unsafe practices and conditions and to abandon a position before deteriorating conditions cause harm (IAFC, 2010).

11.5 The principle that risk-critical decisions are judged by the quality of the decision making rather than the outcome (NFCC, n.d.-a), and the evidence on psychological safety and deference to expertise (Edmondson, 1999DOI; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2015).

12.1 This policy shall be reviewed 12 months after adoption and every three years thereafter, after any Tier 3 review involving a refusal, after any change in the applicable statute, and on request of the JOHSC.

12.2 Review is led by the policy owner with the JOHSC, {{Union}} and {{Volunteer Association}}; the revised policy is approved by {{Fire Chief}} or {{Council or CAO}}.

Put the agreement in writing. Volunteers and non-union staff need a voice: the volunteer association is consulted and sits in the learning review of any refusal at a volunteer station. Where the parties disagree, record it, adopt what can be agreed, and review at 12 months.

Disclaimer. This model policy is general information prepared by The Human Factor for adaptation by the adopting department. It is not legal advice. The statutory right to refuse and its protections are set by the applicable statute, which governs over this policy. The department is responsible for confirming every citation, for counsel and collective-agreement review, and for the policy as adopted.

End of model policy.

This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.

National Fire Chiefs Council [NFCC]. (n.d.-a). Control measure: Positive safety culture (National Operational Guidance). https://nfcc.org.uk/control-measure/control-measure-positive-safety-culture