Employer Obligations When an Employee Requests Accommodation in the Workplace

3 minute read
February 13, 2026
Employment & Labour Law

Jennifer Zeilikman

Accommodation is an important issue when it comes to employment law. There are certain prohibited grounds of discrimination under Ontario’s Human Rights Code, 1990 (“Code”) The Code requires that an employer reasonably accommodate an employee on the basis of a protected ground grounds under the Code. Failure to do so may result in a finding that the employer acted in a discriminatory manner. A common form of discrimination would be the case of disability. There are many forms of disability such as physical disabilities, hearing or vision disabilities, behavioural or social disabilities, learning disabilities or mental health. In this blog, we look at accommodation through the lens of disability as this form of discrimination is very common in the workplace.

Some key points to know about workplace accommodation

The Code sets out that an employer has the duty to accommodate an employee with respect to their disability and accommodation means that the employer may need to create changes in working conditions so that the employee can continue to work at the workplace despite their disability.

In Ontario, the employer has both a substantive and procedural duty to accommodate an employee’s disability. The procedural duty is that the employer must get all the relevant information about the disability as it relates to the workplace. This does not mean that the employee must provide the employer with an actual diagnosis. However, this would cover things like the employee’s general medical status, when they will recover (if they will recover), what their ability to perform the essential duties of their job or can the employee perform alternative duties, etc. It can sometimes be difficult to determine exactly what accommodation is needed but it would be best for an employer to take full consideration as to what steps they should take to support their employee. In short, the procedural part of an employer’s duty is to see what accommodation options are available.

The substantive duty is that the employer must attempt to implement the accommodation. The employer will have to show whether it can or cannot accommodate the employee’s disability to the point of undue hardship. How this looks will change based on the facts of each situation. However, the point being here is that the employer does not have a duty to accommodate the employee in all circumstances. Generally, there will only be three considerations in the assessment as to what will constitute undue hardship. These are: cost; outside sources of funding, if any; and, health and safety related requirements, if any. Usually, no other considerations are allowed to be considered. Therefore, issues like employee morale, customer of client preferences or business inconveniences will not be adequate reasons to assert undue hardship.

However, employees also have some obligations as well when it comes to the accommodation process. For example, an employee who requires accommodation should approach the employer if they believe that they should be accommodated and set out what those accommodations should be and participate in the accommodation process. The employee should also be open and honest with the employer in respect of their disability and be able to answer relevant questions related to their disability. This would allow the employer to be able to access relevant information so that they can attempt to accommodate the employee appropriately.

Examples of workplace accommodation

Here are some common examples of workplace accommodation:

the employee is allowed to take certain time off to accommodate for things like medical appointments;
the employee may be allowed work under an alternative work schedule;
the employee may be allowed to have a more flexible timeline related to work productivity;
the employee may be allowed to change their workspace to allow for accessibility equipment (such as a wheelchair ramp) or assistive technology (such as voice-to-text technology);
the employee may need the assistance of a support animal;
the employee may need a quiet space to reduce sensory strain; or
the employee may need certain instructions provided in writing rather than verbal instructions.

How can Zeilikman Law help?

Zeilikman Law helps both employers and employees deal with employment law issues around workplace accommodation by providing legal advice, preparing various policies, correspondence or other documentation, helping to negotiate a resolution to these issues, litigation management, etc.

For more information on the topic of accommodation in the workplace, please read our blogs:

Contact Zeilikman Law today at (905) 417-2227 or online here for a confidential consultation to get your questions answered about this topic and other employment law issues.

The above article is for general information purposes only, does not constitute legal advice or create a solicitor-client relationship. Because each case is unique and factually driven, if you have concerns with regard to the foregoing issues, please make an appointment with one of our lawyers or a qualified legal practitioner elsewhere. We represent clients in the Greater Toronto Area including Toronto, North York, Markham, Vaughan, Thornhill, Newmarket, Aurora, Brampton, Mississauga, Barrie, Ajax, Whitby, Pickering and Oshawa.