TRAINING THURSDAY: HR Series – Reasonable Suspicion AND Managing Leaves, Absences, & Accommodations

In Canada, employees have access to a wide array of legislated leaves, and as an employer you must understand how to manage the administrative requirements of each type, ensure compliance, update company policies and practices, all while ensuring privacy and confidentiality are adhered to.

Further, you are required to foster an inclusive workplace where all employees are treated with respect and dignity. In fact, it is your requirement to act in a manner consistent with obligations under Canadian Human Rights, which includes accommodating individuals to ensure those who are otherwise able to work are not discriminated against by being excluded from doing so when working conditions can be adjusted by the employer.

Some examples of accommodation include:

• Providing a special screen and software for people with visual impairment.
• Adapting the duties of a labourer recovering from a broken wrist.
• Managing an employee’s schedule in a way that balances their work and caregiving obligations.
• Making wheelchair access available to people with disabilities.

There is no one size fits all formula for managing leaves, ongoing absences, and requests for accommodations.  However, employers are responsible for considering requests from employees and job applicants for accommodation of work-related needs, to the point of undue hardship.

All of this requires special know how in order to manage requests, workplace modifications, supporting medical information in some cases, managing the privacy of the individual being accommodated, understanding when the leave or accommodation exceeds the employers ability or duty to continue, and documenting the process.

In this HR Series Webinar participants will learn:

• The various leaves, absences and sick time requirements in Canada.
• The Duty to Accommodate process.
• What is Undue Hardship.
• How to develop and implement best practices and policies consistent with human rights legislation.
• How to assess each request for a leave or accommodation on its own merit.
• How to seek information from the employee regarding the absence or accommodation.
• How to determine what barriers might affect the employee requesting the accommodation and explore options for removing these barriers.
• How to document the process.

 Who Should Attend?

• Manager and Supervisors
• HR and Administrative Staff
• Safety Professionals