Intent
TransferEase Relocation Inc. is committed to ensuring that employees can work comfortably and without discrimination. As such TransferEase Relocation Inc. has adopted this policy to ensure that our employees are provided with meaningful employment that is ethical, fair, and compliant with all applicable employment and human rights legislation. This policy outlines the company’s commitments regarding workplace accommodation and the steps involved in creating an accommodation plan for an employee.
Guidelines
TransferEase Relocation Inc. will achieve a workplace free from barriers by providing accommodation to employees when needed, up to the point of undue hardship. The organization’s approach to providing reasonable accommodation will include:
- Personalized plans designed to meet the specific needs of individuals;
- Collaborative practices for creating and implementing accommodation plans through consultation with the person to be accommodated and medical professionals; and;
- An approach that ensures confidentiality and dignity.
Duty to Accommodate
TransferEase Relocation Inc. will ensure that employees can work effectively by making adjustments or modifications to their work or work environment up to the point of undue hardship.
The company encourages employees to make any needs for accommodation known to their immediate supervisor or Human Resources in order to begin the accommodation process. The company will work with the individual who requests accommodation to ensure that the measures taken are both effective and mutually agreeable.
Accommodation
Accommodation will be provided for employees where the work must be modified or adjusted to address the needs of the individual. Accommodations may be temporary or permanent, based on the requirements of the individual. All accommodation requests must be supported by written documentation from a health care provider.
TransferEase Relocation Inc. will provide accommodation as appropriate using a consultative approach that involves the company, the individual, and healthcare professionals where required, or other third parties to assist in the accommodation process. Both the employee requiring accommodation and the possible accommodation itself will be assessed individually.
Responsibility
The process of accommodating individuals is a shared obligation between TransferEase Relocation Inc. and all employees have a duty to assist the company in creating a barrier free workplace. This requires any employee seeking an accommodation to report the requirement for accommodation and to cooperate with the company’s efforts to make required adjustments or modification to their work or work environment. The company cannot accommodate needs that it is not aware of. Management should be the first point of contact for employees when requesting a form of accommodation. In consultation with human resources they will determine the most appropriate forms of accommodation to meet the employee’s needs.
Creating the Accommodation Plan
Once an employee has requested an accommodation, Human Resources, the employee’s supervisor, and the employee will create the accommodation plan. The company may request an evaluation of the employee by a health professional or applicable practitioner to help determine an appropriate accommodation. TransferEase Relocation Inc. will create an accommodation plan, and a written description of the plan will be provided to the employee. The accommodation process will generally involve the following steps:
- Identify the need for accommodation;
- Determine the objectives and potential barriers for employee performance in their current role;
- Document how and when the accommodation will be made;
- Document any accessible formats or communication supports required;
- Create and provide an individualized emergency response plan, where needed, that considers the employee’s accommodation;
- Implement the accommodation plan;
- Provide training as appropriate; and
- Review and revise based on employee feedback.
The plan will be reviewed and revised every year, and as needed upon request by the employee, or where there is a change that results in a health or safety risk.
Appropriate Accommodations
TransferEase Relocation Inc. will use all available resources to establish an appropriate accommodation when requested by an employee. Appropriate accommodations will be determined and depend on each individual accommodation plan, but may include:
- Workstation adjustments;
- Job redesign or reassignment;
- Leaves of absence
In circumstances where multiple accommodation strategies may be feasible, TransferEase Relocation Inc. may identify these strategies in response to an employee’s request for accommodation. Both the employee and the company understand that an employee’s preferred accommodation strategy may not be the most reasonable accommodation strategy from the various options available. Employees should understand and agree that “reasonable accommodation” does not necessarily equate to an employee’s preferred accommodation.
Recruitment Process and Accessibility Accommodations
TransferEASE is committed to providing fair, accessible, and inclusive employment practices for employees and job applicants with disabilities in accordance with applicable accessibility and human rights legislation. Accommodations are available throughout the recruitment, hiring, and employment process and will be clearly communicated to applicants through job postings and recruitment materials. When candidates are invited to participate in an interview or assessment process, they will be informed by email or telephone that accommodations are available upon request. TransferEASE will work collaboratively with both employees and job applicants to understand individual accessibility needs and determine appropriate accommodation and communication supports in a timely manner. Reasonable accommodations will be provided up to the point of undue hardship.
Where needed, we will also provide customized emergency information to help an employee with a disability during an emergency. With the employee’s consent, we will provide workplace emergency information to a designated person who is providing assistance to that employee during an emergency.
We will provide the information as soon as practicable after we become aware of the need for accommodation due to the
employee’s disability.
We will review the individualized workplace emergency response information:
- when the employee moves to a different location in the organization;
- when the employee’s overall accommodations needs or plans are reviewed; and
- when the employer reviews its general emergency response policies.
We have a written process to develop individual accommodation plans for employees.
We have a written process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations to return to work.
Our performance management, career development and redeployment processes consider the accessibility needs of all
employees.
Undue Hardship
There may be situations where TransferEase Relocation Inc. cannot provide an accommodation for an employee. The company will work to provide workplace accommodation up to the point of undue hardship. Undue hardship may occur where the accommodation would cause an unbearable financial cost or a considerable disruption to business, an interference with the rights of others, or where the accommodation would create a health and safety hazard. In this case, the company would provide the employee with written reasons as to why the request for accommodation was denied.
Confidentiality
Throughout all steps of the accommodation plan process, employee personal and health information will be kept confidential and protected at all times.
To protect this information, the company will:
- Identify and label the information as confidential;
- Include confidentiality provisions in all supporting documents