Reasonable Accommodation In Canada

The Concept of Reasonable Accommodation

Reasonable accommodation is part of the human rights legislation of Canada and it refers to the adjustment of employment policies and practices that an employer may be expected to make so that no individual is denied benefits, disadvantaged in employment or prevented from carrying out the essential components of a job because of the grounds prohibited in human rights legislation (Dessler, Chhinzer, & Cole, 2014). These barriers could be in the form of disability, religious views, race, family status or gender. In events where these factors prevent an employee from performing their duty and is dismissed or sidelined due to it, it is viewed by the Canadian legislation system as a form of discrimination.

There are specific criteria as set up to determine if an employer has met the duty to accommodate. Firstly the employer must find appropriate means to meet the accommodation without being discriminatory or disrespectful. In the process of accommodation at no point should the employees other civil liberties and rights be compromised.

CRITERIA THAT ENDS EMPLOYERS RESPONSIBILITY TO REASONABLY ACCOMMODATE

There are several criteria that end the employers’ responsibility to accommodate an employee. One is if a solution has been implemented that reasonably accommodates the employee. The other criteria that end the duty to accommodate are as follows:

1. Rejection of an offer that meets the prohibited grounds related (Public Service agency Province of British Columbia, 2008)

2. The employee refuses to provide the necessary information required to assess the need and the criteria of accommodation. (Public Service agency Province of British Columbia, 2008)

3. A union refuses to participate in the accommodation process or fails to give consent to accommodation, thereby rendering the employer unable to act (Public Service agency Province of British Columbia,

Undue hardship is defined as the financial cost of the accommodation, outsourcing costs or health and safety risks to the presented to the other employees making accommodation difficult. The standard that classifies undue hardship is a high one as the law recognizes this is the point at which employees right to be free from discrimination is outweighed by employers need to structure and conduct its workplace in a certain manner (Public Service agency Province of British Columbia, 2008). The according to the Ontario legislation code sets only these standards, therefore no other considerations could be taken into account when justifying undue hardship for accommodation. At no point can reasons of business inconvenience, employee morale, third part preferences or contracts be used as reasons for not accommodating employees (Ontario Human Rights Commission). However prior an organization claims undue hardship the organization is expected to consider other options such as cost recovery, tax breaks, distributing costs, expert opinions and other accommodation methods that would not present the employer undue