Due diligence (health and safety)

Taking every reasonable precaution to prevent injuries at work. It is what you must show if you are charged after a safety incident or violation.

Also called: due diligence defence, every reasonable precaution, reasonably practicable

What due diligence (health and safety) means

In health and safety, due diligence means taking every precaution that is reasonable in the circumstances to protect workers. It is not about being perfect. It is about showing that you saw the hazards a sensible employer in your position would see, and that you took practical steps to control them.

Due diligence matters most after something goes wrong. If a worker is hurt or an inspector finds a violation, the question becomes what you did beforehand to prevent it. Showing that you took all reasonable care is the employer's main defence to a safety charge.

Many safety laws use similar wording for what employers must do, such as acting 'so far as is reasonably practicable'. Nova Scotia's harassment rules, Saskatchewan's harassment duty and Alberta's prevention plans all use this kind of language. It means doing what is possible and sensible, weighing the risk against the cost and effort of controlling it.

How it works

Due diligence is built from ordinary habits, done consistently and written down. For a small employer, that usually means: identifying hazards and writing them down; putting controls in place (guards, procedures, protective equipment, training); training workers and supervisors and keeping a record of it; supervising to make sure rules are followed; correcting people who skip safety steps; acting on reports, near misses and committee or representative recommendations; and reviewing what you do when something changes.

Records are the proof. An inspector or court will ask what you did, not what you meant to do. Training sign-off sheets, inspection checklists, written procedures, maintenance logs, incident reports and notes of coaching or discipline for safety breaches are what show diligence. If it is not written down, it is hard to prove it happened.

Supervisors are part of this. A supervisor who knows a worker is skipping lockout or not wearing fall protection and does nothing can undo the rest of your efforts. Train supervisors on what is expected of them and hold them to it.

Common mistakes: a binder of policies that nobody follows, training once and never again, tolerating shortcuts when the shop is busy, and fixing a hazard only after an injury. Due diligence has to be shown before the incident, not built afterwards.

Is it the same in every province?

The idea of due diligence is the same across Canada: an employer charged with a safety offence can defend itself by showing it took every reasonable precaution. Each province's safety law sets its own duties and penalties, and the wording (such as 'reasonably practicable') varies.

Example: A cut at a sandwich shop

Olivia owns two sandwich shops in Saskatoon with 15 staff in total. A new employee cuts a finger on the meat slicer while cleaning it. A safety officer visits and asks what Olivia did to prevent this.

Olivia shows the slicer's written cleaning procedure posted by the machine, a training sheet signed by the employee on her second shift, the cut-resistant gloves stocked at each shop and a note showing a shift lead had coached another worker for skipping the gloves a month earlier. Those records show she took reasonable precautions. After the incident she adds a rule that new staff do not clean the slicer alone for their first two weeks.

Hollis tracks the dates

Hollis tracks certification expiries, such as first aid or equipment tickets, so lapsed training is less likely to slip through.

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Questions about due diligence (health and safety)

What is the due diligence defence?

It is a defence to a safety charge. If you can show you took every reasonable precaution in the circumstances, you may avoid a conviction even though a violation happened.

What does 'reasonably practicable' mean?

It means doing what is possible and sensible to control a hazard, weighing the risk against the time, cost and effort needed to reduce it.

How do I prove due diligence?

With records made at the time: hazard assessments, training sign-offs, inspections, procedures, maintenance logs and notes of corrective action.

Official sources

General information for Canadian employers, not legal advice. Rules differ by province and territory and change over time, so check with your provincial employment standards office (or the federal Labour Program if you are federally regulated) before you rely on it. See employment standards by province.

Checked against official sources on 4 November 2026.