Psychosocial Risks and Law 27: Is Your Organization Ready?

Law 27 provides for new obligations for businesses such as including psychosocial risks in their occupational health and safety prevention plan.

Several risks (physical, biological, chemical and mechanical, for example) can be detrimental to occupational health. However, psychosocial risks are responsible for a high absenteeism rate.

Psychosocial risk factors influence the quality of a work environment and directly impact the psychological health of employees. Measures must be put in place to look after your talent and foster a healthy and motivating work environment. These corrective measures must be integrated into a plan for managing and preventing psychosocial risk factors.

Under the Act to Modernize the Occupational Health and Safety System (hereafter "Law 27"), organizations must comply with this requirement no later than October 2025.

Which psychosocial risks are workplace-related?

Several lists of risk factors have been drafted. The Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) list pinpoints the following risk factors:

• Work overload;
• Lack of autonomy;
• Lack of social support;
• Lack of recognition;
• Harassment in the workplace.

This list, which is based on scientific studies conducted by INSPQ researchers, includes most of the other risks identified by the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), for example.

What is Law 27?

The main objective of Law 27 is to provide a healthy and safe work environment to all employees of all organizations.

Managing psychosocial risks in the workplace is now a legal requirement for Québec employers who must integrate these risks into their workplace health and safety management and prevention plans before the end of fall 2025.

Law 27 formally requires employers to put in place effective prevention mechanisms adapted to the organization's realities and the specific risks of each activity sector.

How can you assess your compliance?

First and foremost, it's recommended that you carry out a health and safety prevention diagnosis. This will allow you to pinpoint your organization's strengths and weaknesses while focusing on:

• The presence of a clear health and safety policy;
• The introduction of a tailored prevention program;
• The efficiency of mechanisms for communicating and handling reports;
• Regular and ongoing team training.

Here are the key steps to follow.

1 – Carry out a diagnosis

Quickly take stock of your current health and safety situation.

2 – Analyze the risks

Identify the existing physical and psychosocial dangers.

3 – Draft a clear policy

Ensure your written policy reflects the recent requirements.

4 – Introduce adequate prevention programs

Check that the programs cover the risks that apply to your sector.

5 – Test communication methods

Test the effectiveness of incident reporting and handling.

6 – Plan ongoing training

Offer your employees tailored training on a regular basis.

7 – Involve your teams

Actively involve your employees by forming a health and safety committee, for example.

8 – Ensure and monitor compliance

Make the required adjustments and document them.

The benefits of proactive prevention.

Getting a head start by focusing on prevention goes beyond upholding the law. It contributes to:

• Reducing absenteeism;
• Improving your work environment;
• Enhancing your organization's reputation;
• Increasing productivity.

A culture based on health and safety is the key to engagement and trust.

Are you ready to take action?

How can you put in place the prevention provisions required under Law 27? For peace of mind, call on experts to support you. Whether you require an audit, training or personalized support, our team is here to help you foster health and safety at every level of your organization.

This article was written in collaboration with Richard Breton, Chairman of SAnÉ Solution.