As of May 1, 2020, the University has updated its guidelines on Accommodations for employees with disabilities. These updated guidelines provide more information on the procedure of how to request accommodations as an employee with a disability, and the resources available. The Centralized Accommodation Fund has been introduced and will streamline and standardize the process for requesting workplace accommodations with an associated cost. This equity initiative will facilitate the inclusion and retention of staff with disabilities, and the removal of barriers to accessibility. By providing clear guidelines and processes alongside the mechanism for accessing assistive equipment and/or services (e.g. attendant care, captioning), employees with disabilities will have improved access to their work environment and contribute fully to the workplace.
Disability is a protected ground under Human Rights legislation in Quebec. This means that all persons with disabilities have a legal right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace, to the point of undue hardship. Although most workplace accommodations are free or low-cost, McGill’s new centralized process for reviewing accommodation requests for equipment and/or services will enhance McGill’s capacity to respond to such requests in an equitable, efficient, and timely manner.
Currently about three per cent of the McGill workforce identifies as having a disability. Moreover, Statistics Canada’s 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability notes that nearly one in three employees with disabilities aged 25 to 64 years required at least one workplace accommodation. The revised guidelines for Accommodations for employees with disabilities is one part of a multi-pronged effort led by the equity team within the Office of the Provost in collaboration with Human Resources to boost the representation of employees with disabilities on campus. Our goal is to meet and surpass representation targets set by the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse.
All McGill employees with a disability (including full-time, part-time, casual, contract, permanent or temporary staff and faculty) who require a workplace accommodation are encouraged to review the Guidelines On Accessing Accommodations on McGill’s Human Resource’s website or contact Rachel Desjourdy, Accessibility Advisor, for more information.