Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER APRIL 2018 NEWS 17 "We have a description of what we think an employee should be like or what we think a student should be like, and you have fake descriptions like 'team player,' and we don't really know what that means." "On what level are you actu- ally playing with the team? Do you need to communicate with them verbally every single day? No, probably not; most teams don't but it doesn't state that in the job description, and it implies that you do need to communicate very often verbally, when most likely you might be communicat- ing a couple times a week through email," he said. Even for people who are classi- fied as neurotypical, the interview process can be trying, according to Miller. "When I go into (interviews), I struggle sometimes to think at speed for my answers and I think interviews are typically a test of our recall speed and of social in- teraction," she said. "So some things that I think employers can do to create more of a level playing field is to give people interview questions in ad- vance... it's not just a neurodiver- gent adjustment, this is what we call a universal adjustment, so it's good for everybody." More focused wording on job descriptions would go a long way to actually encouraging these peo- ple to apply, according to Miller. "Something that HR needs to look at is job descriptions, be- cause there's a tendency for em- ployers to write job descriptions that ask for a huge range of skills and we were including great com- munication skills and things that are not necessarily integral to the job that we want the person to ac- tually do." "We need to go down to basics and get line managers and HR to work together to say, 'Let's not just reuse job descriptions that we've used before, let's really think about what skills and talents do we want the person doing this job to actually have, what is critical?' And then 'What are the nice-to- haves that we'd like?'" she said. Broader implications It's also important for HR and managers to be better educated on what the issue entails, said Brady. "e neurodiversity programs that are out there right now are catered very directly to people with autism, which is great, but what we're seeing in education is that when we take a more uni- versal approach to teaching and learning and productivity and the workplace, we catch everyone." SAP put its HR departments through a learning process to "ensure that we are true ambassa- dors of this program and we can convey the value of that to our business leaders," said Agnes Ga- raba, head of HR at SAP Canada in Vancouver. "We also had to do a lot of learn- ing around 'How do we enable the team that they're working on to ensure that they understand some special characteristics of people on the spectrum? How can we best support them? How can we create an inclusive environment?'" So far, according to Garaba, the feedback from HR has been positive. "We were fully aware that this would come with quite a bit of work and the truth is there had been sometimes situations that were quite tricky to handle." "Generally there had been just really an outpouring of support for the program among the HR people," she said. "To be perfectly honest, it's not been always the easiest ride but everybody has seen the bigger purpose and truly the motive be- hind this program." "We're looking at this program as just a gateway to open the door to many other initiatives to in- clude other groups that are differ- ently abled into our talent pools and bring them to SAP." HR departments should foster a "very open mind" to employ these new techniques, said Garaba, be- cause "sometimes HR can be a very traditional line of business and even to the point of being risk-averse." "It's interesting because you could see from that experience, we are taking risks in other areas and then in other ways as well, so it actually has a ripple effect that's really good for us." readiness for work — physical, social, and professional reha- bilitation plans — are a form of accommodation. As a result, there was common ground between the injury com- pensation legislation's assertion of the right to suitable employment and the Quebec charter's duty to accommodate, according to the top court. The Supreme Court deter- mined the CLP should have taken into account the employer's duty to accommodate under the char- ter when determining Caron's right to suitable employment. e top court followed suit with the lower courts and set aside the CLP's decision, remitting it to the CLP's successor, the administra- tive labour tribunal, to decide by taking into account the duty to accommodate under the charter. For more information, see: • Quebec (Commission des norms, de l'equite, de la sante et de la securite du travail) v. Caron, 2018 CarswellQue 141 (S.C.C.). Jeffrey Smith is the editor of Ca- nadian Employment Law To- day. For more information, visit www.employmentlawtoday.com. NEURODIVERSITY < pg. 2 Update recruiting process Emplo y ment Law Today Canad a ian Canadian Employment Law Today is an indispensable tool in keeping managers, business owners, trade unions, HR professionals and law firms up-to-date on the latest developments in employment law. As a subscriber you will learn the strategies and techniques that enable businesses to devote more of their focus to productivity and profitability. Our bi-weekly newsletter will connect you with the most current employment law-related rulings in court, tribunals and other judicial bodies. Save valuable hours of research and spend more time using the information to improve procedures and decisions. COMPLY WITH THE LATEST EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION Access a sample issue now at: bitly.com/CELT-FreePreview-16 Subscribe today for only $199 * Order No. 20612-18-64668 Save $109 PM40065782 Emplo y ment Law Today Canad ad a ian www.employmentlawtoday.com September 14, 2016 Wrongful dismissal damages — Bonus entitlement BY RONALD MINKEN FOR some workers, a bonus makes up a signifi cant portion of their remuneration. For others, a bonus is something that may or may not be provided by their employee at specifi c times of the year — such as Christ- mas, for example. Often, an employee who is dismissed without cause will ask whether her entitle- ment to wrongful dismissal damages will in- clude a component for lost bonuses. Compensation for wrongful dismissal can include an amount for a bonus which the employee would have been entitled to re- ceive during the notice period. In the absence of an employment agree- ment specifying to the contrary, the question is whether the bonus has become an essen- tial component of the employee's remunera- tion or whether it is essentially a gift — to be delivered at the employer's sole discretion. A recent decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal, Paquette v. TeraGo Networks Inc., dealt with this issue. When Trevor Paquette was fi red by Tera- Go Networks, the dismissed employee and his former employer could not agree on a severance package. Paquette brought a sum- mary judgment motion to determine the pe- riod of reasonable notice and damages. e motions judge awarded notice at 17 months and based damages on salary and benefi ts that Paquette would have earned during the 17-month notice period. e motions judge did not award damages for bonuses, because the employer's bonus plan required an em- ployee to be "actively employed" at the time the bonus was paid. Paquette appealed that decision on the issue of whether the motion's judge made a mistake in not including compensation for lost bonuses. e Ontario Court of Appeal allowed the appeal. e motion judge erred in focusing on the Nurse fi red for forcing care on resisting care home resident Intentions were good but nurse made a mistake forcing protesting resident to have a shower, resulting in injuries to resident BY JEFFREY R. SMITH AN ARBITRATOR has upheld the dismissal of a registered practical nurse at an Ontario long- term care home after a resident suff ered injuries after resisting care and the nurse failed to fi le an incident report. Chester Posada was a regular part-time reg- istered practical nurse (RPN) at Bendale Acres, a long-term care home operated by the City of Toronto. He was hired in September 2008 and worked in the behavioural response unit, a locked area housing cognitively impaired residents who could act out. On Aug. 20, 2014, Posada was working in the unit with three other staff members. One of the patients, an 86-year-old man referred to as TS, suff ered from dementia and several other affl ic- tions that required him to be on blood thinners. e blood thinners increased TS' susceptibility Intoxicated, dishonest -- and reinstated with full pay pg.3 Employe ignored sunset clause in collective agreement CREDIT: LIGHTHUNTER/SHUTTERSTOCK Getting ready or legalized marijuana pg. 4 Employers will have to treat employee use somewhat differently -- but still as an intoxicating substance ASK AN EXPERT pg. 2 Employee harassment outside work ACTIVE on page 7 » EMPLOYER on page 6 » with Stuart Rudner Start your subscription and receive: • 22 issues of Canadian Employment Law Today • Full access to Canadian Employment Law Today's website, www.employmentlawtoday.com, featuring a searchable archive of past articles • Free access to Canadian Employment Law Today's multi media centre - the home for employment law videos, webinars and blogs TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER *Available to first-time subscribers only To order your subscription call 1.800.387.5164 or 416.609.3800 www.employmentlawtoday.com/subscribe Duty to rehabilitate WORKPLACE LAW < pg. 5

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