The AODA Employment Standards: Are you meeting the new requirements?

In some ways, preparing your employment policies and procedures to meet the latest accessibility requirements is common sense. The AODA employment standards require employers to treat employees and job applicants with the same respect and dignity as any other person.

In practice, unfortunately, it’s not always that easy.

·       What exactly does it mean to consult with employees with disabilities in order to provide accessible documents and job supports?

·       How do you prepare customized accommodation and emergency plans for employees with disabilities?

·       What does an accessible performance management process look like?

You’ve probably started thinking about these things. Maybe you’ve started drafting your policies or updating your existing HR policies. Now’s the time to put all your thoughts together into a coordinated plan to meet the AODA employment standards.

Pulling it all together

We know that these requirements are demanding because we have heard about the challenges from those organizations with 50+ employees that were obligated to comply in January 2016. Smaller employers with fewer resources may need additional assistance to keep track of the project, including reviewing, updating and implementing many HR forms and documents such as job offers, employment contracts, job postings and applications to ensure they are consistent with the new accessibility standards.

Generally speaking, organizations must now ensure that their HR practices, policies and procedures explicitly consider accessibility issues in the areas of:

·       Accommodation

·       Career development

·       Communication and information

·       Performance management

·       Recruitment

·       Return–to–work processes

Remember, accessibility is an ongoing process and you likely don’t want to find yourself trying to play catch–up with AODA obligations that will continue to evolve for years to come. Therefore, it’s crucial to stay on top of the requirements now, including taking the necessary steps to meet the new employment standards.

Is your organization finding it difficult to comply with the Employment standard of the AODA?

 

If you are interested in learning more about Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) or how to make accessibility a natural part of your business through the application of Corporate Social Responsibility, please contact Sandra Broekhof @ 416-579-1035 orsandra_broekhof@sympatico.ca