Rights and responsibilities
Accommodation is a way of helping your employees work more effectively by overcoming limitations caused by disabilities. Usually, accommodations are easy to implement, inexpensive (less than $500), and demonstrate a commitment to a healthier, more equitable workplace.
According to the Canadian Human Rights Code, accommodation is required when an employee's disability results in "functional limitations" preventing them from performing an "essential duty" of their job. Accommodations are "reasonable" so long as they don't impose "undue hardships" on the employer, and recent Supreme Court of Canada decisions have placed the burden on employers to demonstrate how providing accommodations will cause undue hardship (usually by compromising safety or jeopardizing the organization's solvency.) [Read more]
Messages and Testimonials
"I will be suggesting to the corporation that this training be mandatory for every supervisor at every level."
An employee's needs, and their job, may change over time. Similarly, the employer's needs may change or working conditions may change. For example, the introduction of technology may require an employee to take training or to change the way they do their job.
Employers and employees must show some creativity and flexibility to implement accommodations — as well as to make adjustments as necessary. [Read more]
The employer should:
- Create an atmosphere in which employees are comfortable asking for accommodation. This means providing employees with information about the organization's accommodation policy, and creating procedures that allow for the request to be made confidentially.
- Assume that the employee's request is made in good faith.
- Work with the employee, and experts if necessary, to explore all possible accommodations.
- Maintain records of the request and steps taken to deal with the request. [Read more]
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