Employees who are not reasonably accommodated may have difficulty completing their job-related duties. This may be inaccurately perceived by others as a performance issue.

Employees may be reluctant to disclose information about personal circumstances that could have an impact on their work. Managers may have a duty to enquire in certain circumstances and take steps to determine whether an accommodation is needed, even if the employee has not requested it.^{Footnote 1} Some examples are outlined below.

Managers can also consult with the organization’s human resources functional specialists or other functional specialists for guidance in such situations.

Signs that might indicate that accommodation is needed include:

• feedback from co-workers indicating that the employee’s behaviour has changed recently
• a sudden drop in attendance and increase in leave use
• an increase in lateness
• manager observes changes in the employee’s behaviour
• employee expresses difficulty completing their work responsibilities

Managers should:

• discuss work issues with respect, sensitivity and awareness of possible cultural differences
• offer information about available support, such as the Employee Assistance Program
• explore adjustments that can be made and accommodation measures that can be implemented
• ensure that the employee understands that changes can also be made at work to enable them to better manage their workload
• with the employee’s consent, obtain information from the treating medical professional or counselor, if required
• make the required adjustment(s) or implement the accommodation measures and
• meet regularly with the employee to ensure that the accommodation is working and that additional accommodation is not required

If managers have had supportive and respectful discussions with the employee about their specific behaviours and how the accommodation process could identify potential accommodation measures, and the employee does not want to pursue the matter, managers should document the steps that were taken to show that everything reasonable was done to help the employee, and that the obligation regarding the duty to accommodate was fulfilled.

A bona fide occupational requirement is a requirement that every individual performing a specific job must meet because the requirement is essential to the effective and safe performance of the job. When there is a bona fide occupational requirement, accommodating the needs of an individual with respect to that requirement would impose undue hardship. Undue hardship is based on health, safety and cost.

To identify a bona fide occupational requirement, managers should follow a three-step process that was established by the Supreme Court of Canada (Meiorin and Grismer cases, 1999):

• The rule or standard adopted must be connected to the functions of the position
• The rule or standard is adopted in good faith on the grounds that it is necessary
• The rule or standard is reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose or goal, in the sense that the employer cannot accommodate individuals who possess the characteristics of a particular group without incurring undue hardship

Employers are required to provide accommodation up to the point of undue hardship. There is a limit to the duty to accommodate, but there is no set formula for deciding what constitutes undue hardship. The determination of undue hardship varies for each employer and for each accommodation situation.

Managers determining undue hardship should:

• document their conscientious and genuine best efforts
• include input from the employee and the union representative
• collaborate with the organization’s human resources functional specialists and other functional specialists, where applicable
• consult their departmental legal advisors, if applicable

Evidence to support a case for undue hardship should be objective, real, direct and (for cost) quantifiable, such as:

• financial statements and budgets
• expert opinions
• detailed information about the work tasks and the requested accommodation or
• information about the conditions of employment, health and safety limitations and their effects or impacts, where applicable (such as why a person cannot be accommodated)

Undue hardship is typically examined at the enterprise level, not the manager’s unit level.