ADAPTABILITY/ACCOMODATION IN THE WORKPLACE


If our Company’s current building is not accessible can I still hire a person with a disability?

Accessibility of your Company refers to both the physical environment and to information and communication services. If your building is not yet accessible it is still possible to employ a person with a disability. Employing people with visual / hearing impairment / walking with crutches due for e.g. Polio for will also contribute to your equity profile. There are numerous kinds of disabilities that your company can employ. Sometimes minor changes for e.g. moving furniture in an office or giving a blind person tactile pointer in an office could make it more accessible for the candidate to work in your company

What costs are associated with reasonable accommodation?

Although employers are not required to provide accommodation that poses an “unjust able Hardship”, it is a well known fact that employing the wrong person for the job results in greater expense in the long run. Employers often report the benefits to employing people with disabilities often outweigh the cost of reasonable accommodation.

REASONABLE ACCOMODATION FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
(Extracted from the Technical assistance guidelines on the employment of people with disabilities document)

1. What is reasonable accommodation and how does it work?

All designated employers under the Act and Code, “should reasonably accommodate the needs of people with disabilities.” This is both non-discrimination and an affirmative action requirement. For employers who are required to develop employment equity plans, reasonable accommodation is an effective affirmative action measure. The aim of this accommodation is to reduce the impact of the impairment on the person’s capacity to perform the essential functions of the job.
Accommodation, which is modifications or alterations to the way a job is normally performed, should make it possible for a suitably qualified person with disability to perform as everyone else. The type of reasonable accommodation required would depend on the job and its essential functions, the work environment and the person’s specific impairment.


Examples of reasonable accommodation Assistance in making the work place more accessible depending on the kind of person’s limitations and needs- for example, amongst others, removal of physical barriers and access to information and technology ( equipment and software); Workstation modifications; Adjustments to work schedules; Adjustment to the nature and duration of the duties of the employee at work, either on a temporary or a permanent basis; and The relocation of non-essential job tasks and any other modifications to the way the work is normally performed or has been performed in the past.

Situation:
A call centre consultant with a physical disability has difficulty typing with his/her hands at great speed.

Solution:
The employer purchased a high speed Braille printer that allowed the news wire material to be read by the announcer.

Situation:
A bookkeeper who is deaf cannot speak on the telephone.

Solution:
At no cost to the employer, the bookkeeper’s colleagues were sensitised to the disability. The bookkeeper communicates via email, faxes or written messages with colleagues. Some colleagues have opted to learn basic Sign Language. On rare occasions, when required for client or staff meetings, an interpreter is retained on a consulting basis by the firm.

Situation:
A highly skilled computer technician who has a hearing impairment needs to communicate telephonically with others.

Solution:
The individual benefits from sound amplification technology. The phone systems at the work environment, along with portable earphones for the computer technician’s cell phone, were furnished with appropriate devices to amplify the sound.

Situation:
A competent and experienced attorney with a physical disability has difficulty with transport and accessing courts, as well as carrying materials.

Solution:
The employer employs a personal assistant who doubles up as a driver and accompanies the attorney to inaccessible courtrooms.

2. Criteria for reasonable accommodation

The criteria for reasonable accommodation include three interrelated factors:
First, the accommodation must remove the barriers to performing the job for a person who is otherwise qualified. The employer must take steps, wherever reasonably practicable, to mitigate the effect of an individual’s disability to enable him or her to play a full part in the workplace in order to achieve his or her full potential;
Secondly, it must allow the person with a disability to enjoy equal access to benefits and opportunities of employment. All staff must have equal rights to promotion. The employer must take all reasonable steps to ensure that the working environment does not prevent people with disabilities from accessing or retaining positions for which they are suitably qualified; and
Thirdly, employers can adopt the most-effective means consistent with the above two criteria.

3. Reasonable accommodation that apply to applications and employees throughout the period of employment

The issue of reasonable accommodation starts before the person with a disability is employed and continues throughout the employment process.

The following are important stages thorough which reasonable accommodation measures should be considered:
• Job Profiling;
• Job advertisements an applications;
• Interview process – Shortlists applicants with disabilities must be guaranteed an interview at a location which will be fully accessible;
• Assessments skills testing;
• Placement and workplace diversity;
• Training and career advancement;
• Retention;
• Health and Safety;
• Working environment; and
• Performance management and rewarding of performance.