Staff training for Vancouver restaurants: FOODSAFE, Serving It Right, first aid and your own standards

Training in a Vancouver restaurant has two layers. There is the training BC requires, such as food safety certification and responsible alcohol service. And there is everything that makes your business yours: how you greet a table, how the coffee should taste, how allergens are handled on your line. The first is a legal duty. The second is the difference between a good shift and a bad review.

The certificates themselves are covered in the guides on FOODSAFE certification for BC restaurants and BC liquor licences and Serving It Right. This guide is about running training across a team. It is a summary, not legal advice.

What food safety training does BC require?

Under BC's Food Premises Regulation, the operator of a food service establishment must hold a FOODSAFE certificate or an equivalent, and when the operator is absent, at least one employee present should hold it. Ask Vancouver Coastal Health what it expects of the staff on shift when you are away. Many employers ask every kitchen employee to complete FOODSAFE Level 1 because it is widely recognized and cheap insurance. FOODSAFE is delivered through approved providers, so your job is to make sure the right people hold it and that you can show it.

Who needs Serving It Right?

If you hold a liquor licence, BC requires Serving It Right certification for licensees, managers and anybody who sells or serves liquor, with rules that vary by licence type. A certificate is valid for five years. Check the current rules with BC's responsible service program.

How do you keep track of certificates?

Keep a copy of each person's certificates with their staff record, with the expiry date, in one folder or system rather than a drawer. When an inspector or your insurer asks, the answer should take a minute rather than an afternoon. Set a reminder for expiry dates, especially Serving It Right renewals.

What should your own training cover?

Write down what a new starter needs to know in their first week:

• Your allergen procedure: how allergies are taken, flagged and plated
• Service standards: greeting, timing, how to handle a complaint
• Your menu: what is in each dish and what can be changed
• Opening and closing: the checklist that keeps the next shift sane
• Health and safety basics specific to your kitchen

Build it once as a short course with quizzes and practical sign-offs, and give it to every new starter. Each completion should be recorded against the person, with the date, so you can show that a named person completed a named course. "We train everybody" is not a defensible statement after an incident. A list of completions, with dates, is.

In what order should a new starter be trained?

Order it by risk. Before a first shift, a new starter should have read your allergen procedure and the basic kitchen safety rules, and anybody who will serve alcohol should hold a valid Serving It Right certificate. In the first week, they should complete your service standards and menu modules and shadow an experienced colleague. Within the first month, kitchen staff without FOODSAFE should be booked onto a course if your policy asks for it. Give the reading on the day somebody is hired, rather than on their first shift, so it happens before the pressure of service starts.

What first aid does a BC restaurant need?

WorkSafeBC sets first aid requirements for every workplace in the province, and they depend on how many workers are on shift, how hazardous the work is rated and how far you are from a hospital. Restaurants need to assess their own requirements rather than assume.

• Do a first aid assessment using WorkSafeBC's guidance, and write it down.
• Keep the right first aid kit for your assessment, stocked and easy to reach.
• Have trained first aid attendants on shift if your assessment requires them.
• Record injuries, even small burns and cuts, as WorkSafeBC expects.

Kitchens see burns and cuts often, so a clear first aid plan is part of looking after your team. The guide on WorkSafeBC registration and safety has more.

Where do young workers fit in?

Under section 9 of BC's Employment Standards Act, an employer needs the written consent of a parent or guardian to hire a 14 or 15 year old for light work, and the Director's permission for other work. The Regulation lists what counts as light work. Training records for young workers matter even more, because the rules on what they may do are stricter. The guide on hiring under-16s for light work goes through them.

How do you keep training current?

Review the course when your menu changes, especially when allergens change. Ask staff to repeat the allergen module once a year. Use team meetings to walk through one real situation from the past month, such as a complaint or a near miss, and update the course if it exposed a gap.

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More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.