assessments, assistive devices and help from an employee assis-tance
program. It may even be as simple as reassigning tasks within
a group and working with the employee to come up with compara-ble
duties that work within his or her restrictions.
It is advisable to work with the employee, a third-party facil-itator,
the employee’s medical practitioner and/or any union
representatives to come up with innovative solutions while
maintaining confidentiality and discretion. This is particularly
important in the case of chronic illnesses in which the individual
employee may be faced with a unique and variable set of circum-stances
that may be difficult to navigate without additional input
from other resources. Communicating openness to lateral think-ing
may go a long way in making your employee feel included,
respected and individualized.
KEEP GOOD RECORDS
Keep detailed written records and notes of every phone call, meet-ing
and step taken to accommodate the employee in the workplace.
Not only will this help organize and streamline the process, but in
case any issues arise, you will have a solid record of efforts taken to
accommodate the employee.
PHONE A FRIEND
Since workplace accommodation is unique to each individual,
there is no easy “one size fits all” blanket answer on how to do it
right. As a result, if you are ever in doubt as to which course to take
legal words
IN THE CASE OF CHRONIC
ILLNESSES, IT MAY NOT
BE REASONABLE TO
REPEATEDLY REQUEST
MEDICAL NOTES FOR
EACH AND EVERY
INDIVIDUAL ABSENCE.
in accommodating an employee, reach out to an employment and
human rights lawyer who can act as a sounding board and help
you come up with the right solution when weighing all the factors
in context. n
Krista Kais-Prial is an associate at Israel Foulon LLP.
HRPROFESSIONALNOW.CA ❚ JUNE 2018 ❚ 13
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