Individual Accommodation Plans Process

Written Accommodation Process – It is a requirement under section 28 of the Employment Standard—Documented Individual Accommodation Plans— for all Ontario employers (other than employers that are small organizations) to develop and have in place a written process for the development of documented individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities.

THE ACCOMMODATION PROCESS

Alpa Lumber Group is committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities. When an employee with a disability requests an accommodation, the following process will be followed:

Step 1. Recognize the Need for Accommodation

The need for accommodation can be:

• requested by the employee through her supervisor or through human resources; or
• Identified by the employee’s manager or the hiring manager.

Step 2. Gather Relevant Information and Assess Needs

The employee is an active participant in this step:

• Alpa Lumber Group does not require details on the nature of the employee’s disability to provide an accommodation; it needs to know only about the employee’s functional abilities.
• The manager may ask for a functional capacity assessment at the company’s expense.
• The employee and her manager evaluate potential options to find the most appropriate measure.
• An external expert may be involved, at the company’s expense.
• The employee can request the participation of a representative from her bargaining agent or, if there is no bargaining agent, from a different representative from the workplace.

Step 3. Write a Formal, Individual Accommodation Plan

Once the most appropriate accommodation has been identified, the accommodation details are written down in a formal plan, including:

• accessible formats and communication supports, if requested;
• workplace emergency response information, if required;
• Any other accommodation that is to be provided. The accommodation plan is provided to the employee in a format that takes into account her accessibility needs due to her disability:
• The employee’s personal information is protected at all times.
• If an individual accommodation is denied, the manager provides the employee with the reason for the denial, in an accessible format.

Step 4. Implement, Monitor, and Review the Accommodation Plan

The employee and her manager monitor the accommodation to ensure that it has effectively resolved the challenge:

• Formal reviews are conducted at a predetermined frequency.
• The accommodation plan is reviewed if the employee’s work location or position changes.
• The accommodation is reviewed if the nature of the employee’s disability changes. If the accommodation is no longer appropriate, the employee and the manager work together to gather relevant information and reassess the employee’s needs in order for the employer to find the best accommodation measure (Step 2).

INDIVIDUAL ACCOMMODATION PLAN

Under section 28 (1) of the Employment Standard—Documented Individual Accommodation Plans—employers (other than small businesses) are required to develop and have in place a written process for the development of documented individual accommodation plans for employees with disabilities.

 Sources of expert input into the individual accommodation plan (e.g., human resources manager, family doctor, specialists):

Accommodation measures are to be implemented from [start date] to [end date].

If no end date is expected, the next review of this accommodation plan will occur on [review date].

(The accommodation measure(s) should be reviewed annually, at a minimum.)

Description of Accommodation Measure(s)

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Roles and Responsibilities