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Understanding the Workload Form
Many healthcare workers experience increasing workloads, staffing shortages, missed breaks, and pressure to do more with less. The Workload Form, also called a Workload Alert Notification, is an important tool that allows members to formally document situations where workload levels may affect patient care or employee safety.
Under Article 6.07 of the OPSEU Hospital Professionals Division collective agreement, employees have the right to raise concerns when they believe they are being asked to perform more work than is consistent with proper patient care.
The form creates a written record of staffing issues, unsafe workloads, equipment concerns, excessive patient volume, or other workplace pressures.
It helps the union identify ongoing problems and support discussions with management through the Labour-Management Committee. Without documentation, it becomes harder to prove patterns of unsafe or unreasonable workloads.
Members can obtain the form from their union steward, LEC member, OPSEU website or p.94 of the Collective Agreement. Once completed, copies are kept by the employee and steward, while additional copies are forwarded to the department manager and Human Resources. Management is expected to provide a written response, and unresolved issues may be discussed at Labour-Management meetings.
Employees should not get in trouble for filling out a workload form in good faith. The collective agreement protects workers who raise legitimate patient care and workload concerns.
Filing workload forms helps protect both patients and staff while strengthening the union’s ability to advocate for safer working conditions.
Direct link - workload alert form
What is an Incident/Impact Report?
An Incident/Impact Report is a formal way for staff to document workplace incidents, safety concerns, near misses, injuries, medication errors, patient care concerns, equipment issues, or situations that may negatively affect patients, staff, or hospital operations. These reports are important because they help identify patterns, improve safety practices, and prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future.
Employees should complete an Incident/Impact Report as soon as possible after an event occurs. Reports may be filed for patient falls, workplace injuries, aggressive behaviour, unsafe staffing concerns, medication incidents, equipment failures, or any situation that could affect safety or quality of care. Even “near misses” should be reported, as they can help prevent future harm.
The form is located on the hospital intranet page.
Filling out an Incident/Impact Report is important to create a written record of concerns and allow the employer to investigate and address issues properly. Reporting concerns is part of maintaining a safe workplace and protecting both patients and staff.
These reports also help the union by creating a paper trail. Documented patterns can support grievances, health and safety discussions, and future bargaining proposals to improve working conditions for members.
Once submitted, the report is reviewed by management and, depending on the issue, may also be reviewed by Occupational Health and Safety, Risk Management, or Human Resources. Follow-up actions can include investigations, equipment reviews, staffing discussions, policy changes, education, or corrective measures aimed at improving workplace safety and patient care
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