Mrs. Chantal LeBlanc
Mrs. Chantal LeBlanc has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Social Sciences from Concordia University as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from McGill University. She received a Master’s degree in Social Work from McGill University in 2009. Mrs. LeBlanc has been a professional social worker for 22 years, including 3 years in a clinical supervisory role. Her clinical practice has encompassed the areas of home care for elderly people as well as adults with physical and intellectual impairments. For the past 6 years, she has practiced in the field of oncology at the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal.
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Ms. Bonnie Tompkins
Ms. Bonnie Tompkins was the sole caregiver to her late partner, who passed away from cancer in May 2014. She recently graduated in public health from Brock University and now works with her local hospice to help increase access to needed assistance for patient and their caregivers. She is especially interested in caregivers, as she suffered caregiver burnout. Her passion is to use her late partner’s and her own experiences to help people in similar situations, hopefully lessening their stress.
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Once your employer has been informed of your need to be accommodated for your caregiving role, job accommodation ideas can come from creativity and flexibility from both you and your employer.
As a caregiver, flexible work arrangements can help you provide caregiving and managing staying at work. For employers, flexible work arrangements have been shown to reduce absenteeism, foster employee loyalty, improve morale and retention, and increase productivity.
Here are some examples of flexible work arrangements:
- modifying start and end time
- a compressed schedule
- telecommuting (working from home)
- extended maternity or parental leave
- compassionate, discretionary or other leave to care for sick family members
- leaves to provide child or elder care in unanticipated emergency situations
- shift changes
- job sharing
- part-time work with prorated benefits
- shifting or sharing work duties or tasks
Once an accommodation agreement is reached, it can be helpful to put it in writing and communicate it to those affected by it. Follow-up meetings should be planned to review and adjust the accommodation.
Source: Guide to Balancing Work and Caregiving Obligations, Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2014.
