An employee produced a note from a doctor and requested “disability accommodation” requiring me to reassign work between several employees. I know of someone with the same disability who thinks the work is doable, and wonder if this employee is just using the disability as an excuse to get out of a disliked task. Also, why can’t the employee take partial disability if the entire job is no longer doable, so that I can hire another employee part-time?

Canadian employers have a legal obligation under human rights laws to provide reasonable accommodation for employees with a disability. To do this fairly, it is important to make some effort to learn about the disability. But relying on second-hand rumour is risky.

So, just because your cousin’s brother-in-law says that he has the same disability and thinks he could do this task, doesn’t mean that your employee (with actual experience of the work) can do it. Indeed, the most important thing to realize is that the effect of every disability varies hugely! Not only does it vary from person to person, but it can also vary for the person with the disability from day to day, or even from minute to minute. The person may have no way of knowing what tomorrow, next week, or even this afternoon will be like. Unless you have some previous experience that definitely showed this employee to be untrustworthy (and becoming disabled doesn’t count!), then the absolute best source of information on what this employee can do is the person. Even then, don’t be surprised if the answer is “maybe.”

A little trust is in order

It is also very important not to judge the employee based on physical appearance. Many invisible disabilities are quite disabling. That healthy looking person getting out of a car in a disabled parking spot may have every right, and real need to use that spot. The reality of life with certain disabilities is that a person who can stride from car to appointment may come out an hour or two later barely able to struggle back to the vehicle.

You are much more likely to feel comfortable with accommodating your employee if you can accept that reality is messy, and not be suspicious of every variance. Further, this employee presumably has knowledge of the job, and required skills. Your efforts to provide reasonable accommodation for this employee may retain that valuable knowledge and skill-set for your organization.

It’s time to walk in someone else’s shoes

You ask about the employee taking “partial disability” and working part-time. Unfortunately, the social supports for people with disabilities are far from ideal. For the most part (check locally to be certain), insurance and government disability payments work on an all-or-nothing basis. Further, if the employee accepts part-time work for even a short time, and then later needs to go on disability insurance, the insurance will be reduced to reflect the reduced pay of part-time work, rather than the full-time work. Sadly, unless your employee is independently wealthy, part-time work may not be a realistic option. And if your employee is capable of working, even part-time, it may not be possible to get a disability pension.

So your employee is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The job as it is currently configured is no longer doable. Not only is this work an important source of income, it is also a source of interest, social contact and self-esteem. People who must give up all work often become isolated, resulting in many more problems for them and for our society. On the other hand, an employee who is treated with care and compassion may well reflect that care and compassion in the workplace and with the public, and in loyalty to the organization.

Creativity is the key

I suggest you rethink the work before you reassign it. Would some of the tasks in question be doable if new equipment or software were bought? Are they essential at all? Could they be outsourced to an organization that has the right equipment? For example, if you sell a lot of books and resource materials, and the issue is lifting, fulfillment houses have staff and facilities dedicated to storage and shipping. Print on demand is also an alternative to having heavy boxes delivered and stored, and it reduces the chance of workplace injuries. Or, if the employee now finds long telephone calls tiring, is it possible to shift to providing information and responses to inquiries online?

Your staff may have some great ideas: ask them. Make sure the question is about how to serve the mission more effectively and efficiently, not just how to accommodate one employee. Also, ask the employee with a disability how to help the rest of the staff understand why the work assignments are being changed. His or her private health information should never be shared without consent, or in any more detail than necessary. There should be no pressure to consent to share information the employee deems private; the issue is what kind of work the employee can and cannot do.

In addition, consider that having someone else learn some of the work that employee did before, and vice versa, is wonderful for succession planning, vacation coverage, and continuation of work during any disruption. Even if the employee with a disability can no longer do certain work, they can train and coach others.

Having an open mind and attitude of generosity as you develop reasonable accommodations for and with your employee is the best hope for both of you to have a good outcome. Remember, a person with a disability also has many valuable abilities, including insights that may be helpful to your organization.

Since 1992, Jane Garthson has dedicated her consulting and training business to creating better futures for our communities and organizations through values-based leadership. She is a respected international voice on governance, strategic thinking and ethics. Jane can be reached at jane@garthsonleadership.ca.

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