Canadian HR Reporter

N E W S 10 www.hrreporter.com Bringing work disability management systems up to Canadian standard With many employers treating disability management from different silos in their organization, a new Canadian standard is hoping to bring the various stakeholders together and address the entire employment cycle, says Sarah Dobson ALWAYS a challenging area, disability management is a big focus for a lot of organizations faced with the prospect of ailing employees. And yet, many employers lack the insights or strategies to properly manage the issues. To that end, the Canadian Standards Association has introduced the CSA Z1011 Standard, Work Disability Management System to provide a framework for employers in preparing employees with mental health issues, so the standard is very welcome that way, she says. "Employers have a lot of questions about: Should we contact the employee while they're off on a disability leave? How should we accommodate? What is our role in accommodations? When should that be offered? What are the things that we can do to perhaps prevent an absence and keep the employee at work?" says Pomaki. "The standard really provides very helpful answers to these questions and… some very specific how-tos and practical help, which I think is very needed." This standard tries to provide an opportunity to change the culture regarding disability management, she says, "a culture where employers see this as an opportunity to support employees and to be more effective also in that support. So, I think this is more about a culture change [with] very specific supports and practical help." Policies, procedures, practices and guiding principles The continual improvement cycle of the standard is comprised of four modules, known as "Plan — Do — Check — Act." for and responding to work disability. "Disability prevention management varies quite a bit. It can be piecemeal, and it's often not based on an organizational-wide approach," says Nancy Bestic, director of health and safety standards at the CSA Group in Toronto. "The standard was created to provide a framework for organizations to prepare for and respond to work disability. It specifies what's needed to create a work disability management system — and that includes hiring and retaining workers with disabilities throughout the entire employment cycle." Plan sponsors really struggle with disability management and the different challenges, says Georgia Pomaki, leader of mental health disability specialists (part of group disability claims) at Manulife in Vancouver, especially when it comes to understanding the roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders. "It really is a key struggle for employers to understand where they need to step in or how they need to collaborate with everybody else that is supporting the employee." That's especially true when it comes to The cycle is undertaken on a periodic basis, with new management system targets being identified, implemented, evaluated and assessed each cycle, following the successful achievement of previously set targets, says the CSA Group. T he standard includes policies, p r o c e s s e s , p r o g ra m s , p r o c e d u r e s and prac tices around: planning, d e v e l o p i n g , i m p l e m e n t i n g a n d e v a l u a t i n g a w o r k d i s a b i l i t y m a n a ge m e n t s y s t e m w i t h i n t h e framework; recruitment, hiring and onboarding of workers with disabilities and the health and well-being needs of workers throughout the employment l i f e c y c l e ; a n d r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r competencies of persons playing key roles in the management of work disability and training appropriate to their level of involvement. It also uses several guiding principles as a foundation: • an evidence-informed, data-driven approach that is strategic in nature • a focus on inclusion and accessibility to promote engagement and belonging • a worker-centred, supportive approach that is contextualized and case by case • accommodation and timely and safe return to work • the joint responsibility of organi- FLEXIBILITY KEY TO WORKPLACE ACCOMMODATION Source: Statistics Canada 37% Percentage of workers with disabilities aged 25 to 64 years who require at least one workplace accommodation. 27% Percentage of workplace accommodations involving flexible work arrangements, followed by workstation modifications (15%) and human or technical supports (6%). 29% Percentage of employees with "more severe" disabilities who are 3.5 times more likely to require modified duties compared to those with "less severe" disabilities (8%). 45% Percentage of employees who require workplace accommodation, followed by 28% who require two and 27% who require three or more.

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