Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport Guidance for Managers

On this page

• Purpose
• The Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport
• Manager’s roles and responsibilities
• Identifying workplace accommodation solutions
• Examples of resources and subject matter experts
• List of subject matter experts
• Definitions

Purpose

The purpose of this guidance is to facilitate the workplace accommodation process for employees with disabilities, using the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport (the Passport).

This guidance should be read in conjunction with the Treasury Board Policy on People Management, the Directive on the Duty to Accommodate and the Mandatory Procedures for the Duty to Accommodate. It includes guidelines for managers and describes the process to effectively use the Passport.

The Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport

The Passport is a tool that helps create an inclusive workplace for persons with disabilities and for all public servants. Using the Passport, employees document the barriers they may face at work. The employee and their manager collaborate to determine effective and appropriate solutions the employee needs to succeed.

The Passport:

1. records the employee’s barriers and solutions as an agreement between the employee and their manager on the tools and measures to be provided
2. should contain relevant information (such as assessment summary or assessment report) to support a request for accommodation
3. is owned by the employee
4. is updated on a regular basis or when circumstances change
5. follows the employee throughout their career

Manager’s roles and responsibilities

Managers set the optimal conditions for employees to achieve their full potential and successfully carry out their responsibilities by:

• informing all employees, including new members of the team during the onboarding process, about the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport. Tips to start a conversation with your employee and to promote the use of the Passport can include:
  • Do you have any accessibility needs I can help with?
  • Have you heard of the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport?
  • Would you like to review the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport with me? Or I can give you an opportunity to complete it on your own.
• encouraging employees to complete the Passport and to keep it up to date
• reminding employees of the importance of documenting any assessment by a third party as part of their Passport
• using the Passport to document “why” a solution works to ensure that another option can be easily identified if circumstances change
• when employees obtain a new job, whether it be within the same organization or elsewhere in the public service, ensuring that any adaptive tools provided to employees are transferred in a timely manner
• protecting the confidentiality of the information contained in each employee Passport
• making decisions about workplace accommodation, including:
  • accepting the employee’s completed Passport as sufficient documentation, in most situations, to support workplace accommodation requests
  • reviewing any previous assessments of the employee’s workplace accommodation needs. The Passport can be used to summarize previous assessments or include assessment reports
• avoiding repeated requests for additional documentation or justification, once the Passport agreement has been signed by the employee and their manager (even if it is a different manager in another organization), unless the employee’s circumstances or responsibilities have changed, or more effective solutions can be identified
• based on the employee’s completed Passport, acting on any requests for workplace adjustments promptly
• purchasing the necessary equipment as quickly as possible, using acquisition cards where it is authorized and expedient to do so

Identifying workplace accommodation solutions

For any given task, employees with disabilities will, without being required to produce any additional justification or documentation where reasonable, obtain equivalent equipment and/or supports as those available to their non-disabled colleagues, with the modifications and/or adaptations they require. Examples are available at GC Workplace Accessibility Passport.

Persons with disabilities can help identify the accommodation solutions that would work best for them, therefore, consultation between the employee and manager can assist the manager in the identification of reasonable accommodation options. Consultations with corporate services professionals or workplace accommodation experts within or outside the organization should take place if both the manager and employee are not sure of available options (refer to Examples).

Examples of resources and subject matter experts

The following examples of resources and subject matter experts (professionals) can help managers and employees assess potential solutions to address barriers and identify solutions.

• employee networks, such as an accessibility or Persons with Disabilities Network
• centres of expertise, such as the Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology (AAACT) program at Shared Services Canada

List of subject matter experts

The following are examples of professionals that can be consulted to assess workplace accommodation needs:

• audiology therapist
• chiropractor
• ergonomist
• kinesiologist
• psychiatrist
• psychologist
• occupational therapist
• optometrist/ophthalmologist
• osteopath
• physiotherapist
• respiratory therapist
• social worker
• speech-language therapist

Definitions

The Accessible Canada Act includes the following relevant definitions:

barrier

anything — including anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or a practice — that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation

disability

any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment — or a functional limitation — whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society