F20 EMPLOYMENT ACCESSIBILITY POLICY

Date of first approval:

August 31, 2023

Date updated:

March 22, 2024

Introduction:

We are committed to complying with the Accessibility Standard for Customer Service. Our policies, practices and measures reflect the principles of dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity for people with disabilities.

We aim to remove barriers in our workplace. If a barrier cannot be removed, we seek to provide reasonable accommodations to affected employees.  
 

The following policy statements, organizational practices and measures are intended to meet the requirements of Manitoba’s Accessibility Standard for Employment.  

PRE-EMPLOYMENT ACCESSIBILITY

RECRUITMENT/SELECTION PROCESS
During recruitment, we inform all potential applicants that reasonable accommodations are available during the selection process, and we respond in a timely manner to requests for accommodations.

We include a statement on all job postings that reasonable accommodations are available to applicants with disabilities, and we seek their advice on how best to accommodate their needs.   

When an applicant has made a request for an accommodation during the selection process, we:  

Consult with the applicant to determine the appropriate accommodation. 

Put the appropriate accommodation in place during the assessment or selection process. 

HIRING PROCESS

When hiring, we inform selected applicants of our measures, policies and practices for accommodating employees with disabilities. 

We include information about workplace accommodations and accessible employment, policies and practices in our new employee orientation materials.

EMPLOYMENT ACCESSIBILITY

COMMUNICATION

We keep employees informed about our accommodation policies and practices for employees with disabilities. We also provide updates to employees when this information changes using the methods below;

posted on an internal site, memos, or through staff emails 

posted in the staff room or in high traffic areas - included in posters, brochures, pamphlets or advertisements  

through discussions with management (in person, by phone or through email) and during staff meetings 

We aim to meet the communication needs of our employees by providing workplace information and communications in ways that are easy to access for everyone.  If requested by an employee with a temporary or permanent disability, we: 

Consult with the employee to identify the accessible formats, or communication supports needed when providing information to the employee.

Ensure that identified accessible formats or communication supports are continually used when providing information to the employee.

To meet an employee’s communication needs, we ask the employee what accessible format or communication support is most appropriate for them. 

We provide information to employees in multiple ways to meet everyone’s needs, including posting information on our notice board in the staff room, and online on our intranet site. 

INDIVIDUALIZED ACCOMODATION PLANS

Our policy is to provide reasonable accommodations by developing and documenting individualized accommodation plans for employees with disabilities who request them.  
The individualized accommodation plan includes: 

Information about accessible formats and communication supports, if requested

workplace emergency response information, if required 

 details of how and when any other accommodations will be provided, if applicable

when the plan will be reviewed and, if applicable, updated 

Our employees will participate and cooperate in the accommodation process by: 

providing related information

taking part in assessments, if requested by the employer, at the employer’s expense 

following the individualized accommodation plan in good faith and offering ongoing feedback related to how the modifications are working, asking for additional modifications or that the accommodation is no longer required 

Supervisors will review the accommodation plan after the probationary period and in combination with regular employee reviews. Supervisors will also review an employee’s individualized accommodation plan, and update the document if require, when:

 the employee’s workspace is modified or relocated

 the employee’s responsibilities have changed 

other workplace changes have occurred that affect the accommodation 

the employee has made a request to review and update the accommodation plan earlier than outlined in the plan 

REQUESTING AN INDIVIDUALIZED ACCOMMODATION PLAN
We support employees by providing reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Employees may make a verbal or written request to their manager or store supervisor for an individualized accommodation plan. The process will go as follows;
 

Request for an individualized Accommodation Plan

The employer will respond to an employee who requests an individualized accommodation plan to address a barrier the individual is experiencing in the workplace

 Assessment of employee and accommodation requested

We will assess the employee and possible accommodations on an individual basis. 

We may request that the employee provide documentation from a health practitioner (at the employee’s expense) specializing in workplace accommodation who supports the need for the accommodation. 

We may request, at the organization’s expense, an evaluation by an independent regulated health professional or other practitioner in the area of workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities.  

Assistance for the employee in developing the plan

 An employee may request that another person who is knowledgeable about workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities assist in developing the plan.

Accessible formats

We meet the communication needs of our employees by providing them with a copy of their plan in a format and with any communication supports to meet the needs of the employee.  

Implement the Individualized Accommodation Plan

Best West Pet Foods will comply with the accommodation plan and perform their work accordingly. The employee will offer feedback to the employer, including whether the accommodation plan requires modification or is no longer required

Best West Pet Foods will support the employee in implementing the accommodation plan

Reasons for denying a request

We may deny an employee’s request for an individualized accommodation plan if: 

The employee is able to carry out most of the job without an accommodation

an independent regulated health professional(s) contracted to conduct an assessment does not support the employee’s self-assessed requirement for a workplace accommodation.  

evidence shows that the accommodation request would cause undue hardship (e.g., create a major and measurable costs to the employer or health and safety risks). 

If a request for a reasonable accommodation request is denied, we will provide the employee with the written reason(s) for the denial.  

MAINTANING PRIVACY
We protect the privacy and confidentiality of employee’s personal information and personal health information.  We only collect, use, and disclose information as required for the purposes of the Accessibility Standard for Employment, unless otherwise agreed to by the employee. We also follow the requirements of other privacy legislation, including The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Manitoba) and The Personal Health Information Act (Manitoba).

We follow proper protocol when storing confidential employee information. We protect our employees’ personal information and personal health information at all times by limiting access to human resources and managers only. Any verbal discussions with employees regarding their personal information is done privately and separate from where other persons could overhear.

MANAGING PERFORMANCE
We ensure our performance management process takes into account: that an employee may be temporarily or permanently disabled by one or more barriers in the workplace, an employee's individualized accommodation plan, AND that the accommodations provided for an employee may not fully address a workplace barrier 

We meet with new staff six months into employment and at least once annually to discuss progress, new goals and any challenges. Existing or newly required workplace accommodations are discussed, including individualized accommodation plans and any assistance required during emergencies. 

We speak with employees when they do not follow company policy or meet expectations, and offer a spoken and written warning of consequences, including disciplinary action.   

We discuss existing workplace accommodations and propose modifications or new workplace accommodations if we believe this could help improve the performance of an employee with a disability. 

Prior to imposing disciplinary measures, we consider whether there is a connection between concerns about job performance and workplace barriers.  

WRITTEN RECORDS
We keep a written record of our accessibility and training policies. Our written documents include a summary of the content of our training material and a list of dates when training is offered. We let the public know that our policies are available upon request and we provide these in a format that is accessible for the user.

We will let the public know that our accessibility and training policies are available in the following ways:  

posted on website, on social media, or in newsletters 

posted at our building entrance, ticket counter, service reception desk or in high traffic areas 

through employees, or management (in person or by phone) 

We provide our policies within a reasonable timeframe, and in a format that meets the needs of individuals with a disability, at no additional cost. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 Review our “Accessible Return to Work Policy” for processes to help employees with disabilities/health conditions return to work when safe to do so.

Review our “Accessible Workplace Emergency Response Policy” for processes to prepare employees with disabilities for emergency situations.

Review our “Accessible Training Accommodations” for our processes on how we train our employees to accommodate staff with a disability.

Employee Accessibility File - 

https://tinyurl.com/5bbdppre