Half day open training event held in Mississauga, Ontario.

1. Disability in the Canadian workplace
by Toronto Training and HR
October 2013

2. CONTENTS
5-6
7-8
9-10
11-12
13-14
15-19
20-21
22-25
26-27
28-30
31-34
35-38
39-40
41-46
47-49
50-51
Definition
Forms of discrimination
Types of disability
Barriers
The Ontario Human Rights Code
Accommodations
The AODA Employment Standard
An action plan for disability
Drill
Accessible formats and communication supports
Individualized workplace emergency response information
Recruitment and informing employees of supports
Interviewing disabled people
Challenging stereotypical thinking
Yukon’s employment strategy
Conclusion and questions
Page 2

3. Introduction
Page 3

4. Introduction to Toronto Training
and HR
Toronto Training and HR is a specialist training and
human resources consultancy headed by Timothy Holden
10 years in banking
10 years in training and human resources
Freelance practitioner since 2006
The core services provided by Toronto Training and HR
are:
Training event design
Training event delivery
Reducing costs, saving time plus improving
employee engagement and morale
Services for job seekers
Page 4

5. Definition
Page 5

6. Definition
• Disability
Page 6

7. Forms of discrimination
Page 7

8. Forms of discrimination
•
•
•
•
•
•
Direct discrimination
Indirect discrimination
Associative discrimination
Perceptive discrimination
Victimization
Harassment
Page 8

9. Types of disability
Page 9

10. Types of disability
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Visual
Hearing
Deaf-blind
Physical-mobility
Mental health
Developmental/intellectual
Learning
Page 10

11. Barriers
Page 11

12. Barriers
•
•
•
•
•
Attitudinal
Information or communications
Technology
Organizational
Architectural or physical
Page 12

13. The Ontario Human Rights
Code
Page 13

14. The Ontario Human Rights Code
• Provides for equal rights and
opportunities, and freedom from
discrimination
• Duty to accommodate
• Examples of accommodation
• Accommodation responsibilities
Page 14

15. Accommodations
Page 15

16. Accommodations 1 of 4
DEVELOPING AND DOCUMENTING
INDIVIDUAL PLANS
• Let all employees know about the
process-generally, employees with
disabilities will request
accommodation but in some cases
an employer may initiate a dialogue
• Discuss the manner in which any
employee requesting
accommodation will participate in
the development of their individual
accommodation plan
Page 16

17. Accommodations 2 of 4
DEVELOPING AND DOCUMENTING
INDIVIDUAL PLANS (CONTINUED)
• Allow the participation (if requested
by the employee) of a
representative from their union if
any, or if there is no union, any
representative from the workplace
• Protect the privacy of the employee
around workplace accommodation
all times
Page 17

18. Accommodations 3 of 4
DEVELOPING AND DOCUMENTING
INDIVIDUAL PLANS (CONTINUED)
• Work together (manager and
employee) to determine when the
workplace accommodation is
reviewed and updated
• Provide reason(s) for any denial of
workplace accommodation to the
employee-an employer can deny a
workplace accommodation, subject
to the requirements of the
Employment Standard and the
Human Rights Code
Page 18

19. Accommodations 4 of 4
DEVELOPING AND DOCUMENTING
INDIVIDUAL PLANS (CONTINUED)
• Provide the accommodation plan in
a format that takes into account the
employee’s disability
• Include the employee’s emergency
response information as well as any
information and communication
supports in the workplace
accommodation plan, if required
Page 19

20. The AODA Employment
Standard
Page 20

21. The AODA Employment Standard
• The Accessibility for Ontarians
with Disabilities Act 2005 (AODA)
• Key areas of living for people with
disabilities
• Integrated Accessibility Standards
Regulation
• General requirements
• The Employment Standard
Page 21

22. An action plan for
disability
Page 22

23. An action plan for disability 1 of 3
• Audit existing policies and practices
• Draw up a business case for change and
get management support
• Develop a good practice policy, check it
incorporates legal duties and promote it
to everyone who works for the
organization
Page 23

24. An action plan for disability 2 of 3
• Clarify line manager and employee
responsibilities; offer employees training
to build their understanding and
confidence to act
appropriately, including contract
specifications in, for
example, recruitment and procurement
• Design an action plan to implement the
policy; monitor and review outcomes
and effectiveness to make approaches
more robust; share the learning
across the organization
Page
• Follow good24recruitment practice

25. An action plan for disability 3 of 3
• Keep up to date with good practice and
legal developments
• Network with other employers interested
in progress in diversity to share learning
and ideas and keep up to date
with competitors
• Listen to disabled employees and
customers to make sure you understand
their needs and preferences and refresh
your organization’s policies and practices
to reflect them and keep them relevant
and up to date
Page 25

26. Drill
Page 26

27. Drill
Page 27

28. Accessible formats and
communication supports
Page 28

29. Accessible formats and
communication supports 1 of 2
• All employees should have
access to information that is
generally available to them in
the workplace or information
that they need in order to
perform their job
• Ensure policies and processes
include a provision or arranges
for the provision of accessible
formats and communication
supports
Page 29

30. Accessible formats and
communication supports 2 of 2
• Most information and
communication supports will
already have been covered in an
employee’s individual
accommodation plan-this is
especially true for information that
an employee needs in order to
perform her or her job
• Your process should include letting
all employees know they can
confidentially talk to you about
accessible formats and
communication supports
Page 30

31. Individualized workplace
emergency response
information
Page 31

32. Individualized workplace emergency
response information 1 of 3
• Review your organization’s overall
emergency response plan
• Check that those employees with
existing accommodation plans
also have individualized
emergency response
information, if needed
• Determine who else needs help
and how to best meet their
emergency response needs-let all
employees know about the
process
Page 32

33. Individualized workplace emergency
response information 2 of 3
• Once an employee makes a
request for accommodation, you
must provide the information as
soon as possiblegenerally, employees with
disabilities will request
accommodation, however in some
cases, an employer may initiate a
dialogue.
• Provide emergency response
information to employees in a
format based on their accessibility
Page 33
needs

34. Individualized workplace emergency
response information 3 of 3
• Involve others-with the
employee’s consent, ensure
information is provided to those
who will be helping that employee
in an emergency
• Review emergency response
information when things change
such as a new starter, when an
employee moves to a different
location or when an individual
accommodation plan is reviewed
Page 34

35. Recruitment and
informing employees of
supports
Page 35

36. Recruitment and informing
employees of supports 1 of 3
• Any internal or external
recruitment postings should have
a statement that accommodation
is available for applicants with a
disability
• Any applicants selected for an
interview or further assessment
are aware that they can ask for
accommodation
Page 36

37. Recruitment and informing
employees of supports 2 of 3
• The organization must consult with
the candidate to come up with a
suitable accommodation
• Any successful candidate who is
offered employment is informed
about the employer’s policy for
accommodating employees with
disabilities
• Any new employee is informed at
their orientation about the employer’s
policy for accommodating employees
with disabilities
Page 37

38. Recruitment and informing
employees of supports 3 of 3
• The employer regularly
communicates its policy on workplace
accommodation to all employees, for
example, at meetings, on bulletin
boards and more
Page 38

39. Interviewing disabled
people
Page 39

40. Interviewing disabled people
• Any disability
• Applicant using a wheelchair
• Applicant with an intellectual
disability
• Applicant with a visual
impairment
• Applicant with a hearing
impairment
Page 40

41. Challenging stereotypical
thinking
Page 41

42. Challenging stereotypical thinking
1 of 5
• Disability should not be confused with all
long term illness, as disability can affect
health in different ways
• Disability should not be seen in a narrow
way – for example, a very small
percentage of people with disabilities are
wheelchair users
• Not all disabilities are obvious-more
people acquire disabilities than are born
with them
Page 42

43. Challenging stereotypical thinking
2 of 5
• Problems can arise for a disabled person
related to the physical design of the
environment they are in such as
offices, shops and public places and
transport-they can also relate to
operational customs and practices at
work such as hours of work or time
keeping
• Organizational image and reputation can
be seriously damaged or enhanced by
negative or positive experiences relating
to disability
Page 43

44. Challenging stereotypical thinking
3 of 5
• Mental health problems such as
depression and anxiety affect a
significant proportion of the population
and stress-related illness has recently
overtaken muscular-skeletal problems as
the top cause of absence
• People with disabilities continue to find it
significantly more difficult to get a job
than able-bodied people because
employers fail to approach the
management of disability positively
Page 44

45. Challenging stereotypical thinking
4 of 5
• It is possible to make simple changes to
jobs and the way they are carried out in
order successfully to employ someone
with a physical or mental impairment or
learning difficulty without serious cost or
even at no cost at all-funding support to
help a disabled person regarding
employment may be available
• Good practice shows that there can be
easy ways to recruit and retain talented
people with disabilities, which can often
bring more general benefits in other
ways Page 45

46. Challenging stereotypical thinking
5 of 5
• Not everyone with a disability under the
legal definition would see themselves as
such and many disabled people fear
disclosing such information for fear of
being unfairly treated; such
apprehension is bad for everyone and
businesses-organizations need to focus
on building trust through honest and
open conversations which can build
employee engagement and good
employee relations.
Page 46

47. Yukon’s employment
strategy
Page 47

48. Yukon’s employment strategy 1 of 2
• Information and
education
• Stakeholder engagement
• Employment strategy
Page 48

49. Yukon’s employment strategy 2 of 2
ACTION PLAN
• Services to stakeholders
• Employer supports
• Performance
• Empowerment
• Information and support
• Capacity
Page 49

50. Conclusion and questions
Page 50

51. Conclusion and questions
Summary
Videos
Questions
Page 51