Employment: Duty to accommodate
INFORMATION SHEET
A printable PDF version of this information sheet is available.
Duty to Accommodate
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that an employer has a legal duty to take reasonable steps, in policies or conditions of work, to accommodate an employee’s individual needs. This duty applies to all grounds of discrimination covered under the Alberta Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act (race, religious belief, age, mental disability, physical disability, colour, gender, marital status, family status, source of income, ancestry , place of origin or sexual orientation).
For example, a person may be unable to work on a particular day because it conflicts with his or her religious beliefs. In such cases, the employer must try to resolve the conflict in a way that is agreeable to both parties.
However, this legal duty does not apply if the only way to resolve the problem will cause the employer undue hardship.
Undue Hardship
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that the employer’s hardship must be "substantial in nature". For example, a physically disabled employee, as part of his or her job duties, may be required to carry boxes up a flight of stairs. If the business has no elevator, it may be deemed an undue hardship to expect the employer to install an elevator to accommodate the employee. However, it may be possible to have another employee do that task. In exchange, the disabled person could assume one or more of that employee’s regular tasks.
Accommodation which is reasonable in one case may not be reasonable in another. Every case should be handled and assessed in an individual manner and in consultation with employees.
Union Agreements
Unions or union contracts cannot prohibit an accommodation that is considered reasonable, even if that accommodation contravenes a collective bargaining agreement.
For example, a reasonable accommodation for an employee who cannot work a certain day for religious reasons may be to have that employee work overtime on another day at regular pay. Even though a collective agreement may prohibit regular pay for overtime work, the employer may not be bound by the agreement in this case.
An employee must consider an accommodation that is deemed reasonable. Accommodation requires give and take by both the employer and the employee.
Exceptions
In some cases, an employer may not be required to accommodate employees if the discriminatory rule or condition of work can be shown to be reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances. In other cases, there may be bona fide occupational requirements (BFOR) for employment in certain positions. Employers, then, would not have to accommodate employees who do not meet those requirement. (See information sheet Stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.)
For more detailed information about the duty to accommodate, see the Commission's interpretive bulletin on duty to accommodate.
Please note: A complaint must be made to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission within one year after the alleged incident.
March 2007
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