January 17, 2012

Duty to Accommodate: Building an Inclusive Workplace is now available
The Joint Learning Program (JLP) announces that its Duty to Accommodate: Building an Inclusive Workplace workshop is finalized and available for delivery in the workplaces. Clinics will be held in each of the six regions over February and March to support JLP Facilitators in developing the skills to deliver this topic.

The purpose of the workshop is to familiarize employees and managers with the meaning of duty to accommodate, the legal framework as well as the benefits of inclusive workplaces for all employees working in the public service. The workshop has been designed to develop a common understanding of what the roles and responsibilities are of the individual employee, managers and the union.

There are two options for this workshop. It can be delivered in one day as an introduction to workplace accommodation covering the basics of the duty to accommodate (DTA). It can also be delivered in a day and a half providing participants with the opportunity to further apply their knowledge and deepen their understanding of the concepts that have been introduced in Day 1. The target audience is Union members and their corresponding supervisors and managers.

Duty to Accommodate: Building an Inclusive Workplace was developed with a reference group of representatives of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). The following people were instrumental in providing expertise and feedback during the workshop development process:

Participants of the pilot session came from close to 30 different departments as well as from the PSAC. The pilot sessions were held over the summer in Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Vancouver. The sessions were opportunities to test the workshop learning contents and for participants to provide feedback which helped to finalize the kit.

The DTA workshop is one of the six topics covered by the JLP. For more information onDuty to Accommodate: Building an Inclusive Workplace or to organize a workshop in your workplace, please contact your JLP Regional Field Coordinator.