What Does Workplace Accommodation Mean?

Toronto Employment Lawyer Brian Bell - There are many situations in the workplace where “accommodation” is required.  We are probably most familiar with situations that involve an injured or sick worker, who requires accommodation when easing back into the workplace. According to the rules in Canada, failure to accommodate such a worker would violate that individual’s human rights.

So how far does an employer have to go to show that they accommodated an individual, and what form does this accommodation need to take?


On January 31, 2013, the Federal Court of Canada upheld a finding of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal.  In this case, the court found that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) discriminated against a female employee on the basis of family status. The CBSA had not accommodated her child care needs.

The issue is that the employer must accommodate until they reach the point of “undue hardship." That can mean different things to different employers.

The employer’s position had been that while they were prepared to accommodate the employee’s needs, they did not feel the employee’s child’s needs were their responsibility.

The request for accommodation centered on this full-time employee being allowed to work fixed daytime shifts.  The practice of the employer for handling such requests was to re-classify the employee as part-time, and cap the total number of hours the employee would work.  The Court determined the employer failed to accommodate and awarded accordingly.

The issue is that the employer must accommodate until they reach the point of “undue hardship." That can mean different things to different employers.  In the case here, it was a large company, so this accommodation would be of minimal impact.  In a smaller company of, around 5 employees who all had the same request, the result would certainly be catastrophic to the business.

Essentially, this latest decision shows that employers must be open minded, creative and compassionate in dealing with family issues and responsibilities. It is quite possible that this decision on child care may be extended to aging parental responsibilities.

Time will tell. For now, employers should be on the look out for any situations where they might be in breach of a duty to accommodate, and seek guidance accordingly.