Accommodation Process
The Position of the Person that the Person requesting accommodation notifies
Who is the P&C Business Partner?
Ones that can be easily seen or detected by others
What are Apparent Disabilities?
Accessible workstations, ergonomic equipment, ramps, elevators, and parking spaces.
An employee with a chronic illness needs to attend medical appointments regularly.
The employer provides a flexible schedule that allows the employee to work around their appointments, perhaps by working a different shift or using compressed work weeks.
The First Step of the Accommodation Process
What is the first step in accommodation is to have an open conversation between P&C, the Manager and the employee about the employee’s needs?
Ones that cannot be easily seen or detected by others.
What are Non-apparent Disabilities?
Will be provided on a case-by-case basis. Modified work hours, remote work options, or reduced schedules for individuals with disabilities, employees returning from family and parental leave, or recovering from injury/illness.
What are Flexible Work Arrangements?
An employee has difficulty accessing a certain area of the office due to a physical disability.
The employer modifies the workspace by installing a ramp or widening doorways to ensure accessibility.
The frequency in which accommodation measures will be reviewed
What is the manager and/or the business partner will review the accommodation measures collaboratively with the employee regularly to confirm they continue to be necessary and mutually effective?
Taking steps to adjust rules, policies, practices or physical spaces that have a negative impact on individuals, or groups of individuals, based on prohibited grounds of discrimination.
What is Accommodation?
Adjusting job duties to fit the employee’s abilities or transitioning the employee into a more suitable role within JTI.
What is Job Modification?
An employee with a hand injury needs assistance using certain tools.
The employer provides specialized tools or adapts existing equipment to accommodate the employee's needs.
If an accommodation request cannot be met
What is undue hardship?
Designing places, programs, services and products to be inclusive and usable by everyone from the start. This means preventing problems by addressing barriers early on so that people with disabilities are not excluded.
What is Accessibility?
Formats such as large print, braille, or sign language interpretation. Alternative communication strategies for neurodivergent employees such as written instructions or visual aids. As well as assistive technology (e.g., screen readers)
What are Communication Accommodations?
An employee is unable to perform certain tasks due to a disability.
The employer may reallocate some tasks, modify performance requirements, or provide additional training.
Documents the request, including the employee’s name, position and date of the request, any details provided by the employee and any accommodation options suggested by JTI Macdonald / P&C or the employee.
Who are the business partner and/or manager?
Occurs when required accommodation measures would be prohibitively expensive, or create undue risks to health or safety. This is where the duty to accommodate ends. There is no precise legal definition of undue hardship or standard formula for determining it. Each situation is unique and must be assessed individually. Some degree of hardship is reasonable; however, an employer will have reached undue hardship when reasonable measures of accommodation have been exhausted and only unreasonable or impracticable options remain. A claim of undue hardship must be supported with facts and a detailed analysis of options.
What is Undue Hardship?
1.Zen rooms and quiet areas are available in our office spaces to allow employees to take a break and relax throughout the day
2. Private, closed rooms are available for praying or meditating
3. Medical center available at the factory with an onsite nurse 3 days per week and an onsite doctor one day per week
4. Room with a bed available for employees who don’t feel well and need to lie down 5. Fully equipped gym available for employees to stretch and exercise (open to field employees and factory employees as well)
What are some of the existing accommodations at JTI - Macdonald?
An employee needs a policy or practice changed to accommodate their needs.
The employer may need to adjust policies or practices, such as allowing for more frequent breaks or providing access to assistive technologies.