What is a job accommodation?
Sometimes in order for you to be able to return to your workplace, parts of your job may need to be changed.
A job accommodation is an adjustment or change to the tasks, work schedule or environment that allows an employee with a disability to safely and productively do their job. You may not think of cancer as a disability. However, if cancer’s effects or treatment restrict your ability to fulfill any aspect of your job, then cancer may be considered a disability under human rights legislation. Visit our section on human rights for more information.
Examples of job accommodations:
- Graduated return to work (beginning part time and gradually increasing to full time)
- Changing work schedules (for example, starting later in the morning and finishing later, time off for medical appointments, moving to part time)
- Flexible work (for example, more breaks, employee can vary hours, work at home)
- Quiet room to rest
- Furniture or equipment (for example, adapting a keyboard, chair that supports back)
- Assistive technology (for example, personal digital assistant for appointment reminders, hands-free phone)
- Modifying the work environment to remove barriers (for example, moving desk closer to bathroom, replacing steps with ramp)
- Changing job tasks (for example, reorganizing work processes, replacing tasks with less physically demanding ones, delegating some duties)
- Transferring to another job in the same workplace
