Glossary

Accommodation

The term “accommodation” is used in workplaces to describe a range of changes to work demands, work scheduling, and the work environment. Accommodations are aimed at supporting the accessibility needs and inclusion of workers related to protected grounds such as disability or health status, age, gender, race, religion, and family status (e.g. caregiving responsibilities). Accommodations may be small or large and are meant to help a worker to stay at work or to return to work (RTW) and complete their job demands efficiently and safely.

There are many types of accommodations that might be helpful for a worker with a disability or health condition. Examples include additional breaks, work-at-home opportunities, providing equipment or assistive technology to help with a job, and adjusting the scheduling of work.

Workplaces are required to try to support a worker’s needs and to avoid discrimination. However, there are limits to the accommodation(s) an employer may be required to provide. Some workplaces are beginning to adopt the principle of “inclusive design,” which involves designing a workplace at the outset to be inclusive and accessible, thereby reducing the need for specific accommodations.

See also: Duty to Accommodate, Duty to Inquire, Undue Hardship

DCIDE

DCIDE stands for Decision-Support for Communicating about Invisible Disabilities that are Episodic. This is a tool that aims to help workers consider their decision whether or not to share personal health information with others at work to receive workplace support. It asks the user questions about their needs, goals, personal preferences, work supports and work culture. It also reviews issues about how much information to disclose, when and to whom. A summary is provided and information about possible next steps.

DCIDE is free to use and no personal details about the user are requested or saved on the website. The tool was developed at the Institute for Work and Health as part of the Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED) research partnership.

Link to the DCIDE tool coming soon.

See also: JDAPT (Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool)

Disability

A disability arises when a condition of the body or mind interacts with personal, social, or environmental factors to make tasks, activities, or roles like employment difficult. A disability is not a set characteristic or trait of a person. It is created by the interaction among factors like health, task demands, negative attitudes and behaviours, lack of access to resources, and physical and environmental barriers. A person may be able to fully participate in some activities but experience barriers that affect their ability to fully participate in other situations.

• Sources: World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Disclosure

The act of making information known to someone. For example, people who live with chronic health conditions that can affect their jobs may have to decide whether to share some information about their work needs with their supervisor or manager.

Discrimination

The Canadian Human Rights Act defines discrimination as “an action or a decision that results in the unfair or negative treatment of a person or a group because of their race, age, religion, sex, etc.” Living with a disability is also protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

• Source: Canadian Human Rights Commission

Duty to Accommodate

Employers have a legal responsibility to make workplaces inclusive and to identify and remove barriers that can prevent workers from participating fully in work. This may include making changes to policies, physical and social environments, and other aspects of work to reduce or eliminate their negative impact on employees, and to ensure that steps are taken to allow employees to do their job as well as they can. There are limits to duty to accommodate requirements if changes require significant difficulty or expenses for an employer.

See also: Accommodation, Duty to Inquire, Undue Hardship

More information on Duty to Accommodate based on the Canadian province/territory that you live in coming soon.

Duty to Inquire

An organization has a responsibility to speak with an employee about their ability to work. This includes when the organization is aware of or believes that their employee’s job performance or ability to complete their job demands are affected because of a disability. It ensures that an employer does not take advantage of circumstances where they should have made themselves aware of a possible need for an accommodation.

See also: Accommodation, Duty to Accommodate, Undue Hardship

Dynamic Disabilities

Please see Episodic Disabilities/Conditions.

Episodic Disabilities/Conditions

Many people with long-term health conditions experience periods of good health, interrupted by periods of poor health. Periods of poor health can create limitations or difficulties with activities (that is, a disability). Because the disability comes and goes, it is described as an episodic disability. It may also be called a fluctuating disability or dynamic disability.

There are many types of conditions that can give rise to an episodic disability. These include physical health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, migraine, multiple sclerosis (MS), many pain conditions, HIV/AIDS, and some forms of cancer. Episodic disabilities also include mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

Episodic disabilities are often unpredictable and may be invisible to others who are not aware that a person is living with a disability.

• Source: ACED

Fluctuating Disabilities

Please see Episodic Disabilities/Conditions

JDAPT

JDAPT stands for Job Demands and Accommodation Planning Tool. This tool is intended to help workers with chronic and episodic conditions—and the workplace parties who support them—identify accommodations tailored to job demands that allow workers to successfully stay in their jobs. The tool is personalized to the user’s situation and is interactive. It asks questions about a user’s current job demands and then provides a range of concrete strategies and practical support ideas to manage job demands that the user is currently finding difficult. Some strategies the worker can implement on their own, while other strategies would require permission from the workplace.

The tool is free to use, and no personal details about the user are requested or saved on the website. The tool was developed at the Institute for Work and Health as part of the Accommodating and Communicating about Episodic Disabilities (ACED) research partnership.

Click here to access all versions of the JDAPT.

See also: DCIDE (Decision-Support for Communicating about Invisible Disabilities that are Episodic)

Undue hardship

As part of duty to accommodate requirements, a person or organization must take reasonable and practical steps to be inclusive and remove barriers to the employment of different groups. However, if actions require an organization to take on significant difficulty or expense, or if they may be considered unreasonable or disproportionate burdens, it is regarded as “undue hardship”. This situation may partially or fully excuse an organization from providing some types of supports and accommodations. For example, sometimes an accommodation is not possible because it would cost too much, or it would create health or safety risks. Evidence may be needed to demonstrate that an accommodation creates a hardship for an employer.

• Source: Canadian Human Rights Commission

See also: Accommodation, Duty to Accommodate, Duty to Inquire