Services for Employees

There are a number of services that are available for employees who require an accommodation under any of the 13 grounds of discrimination. Some of these services are as follows:

Attendant Services - are services performed by individuals who have been trained to provide specialized support services to employees who need assistance with tasks associated with daily living, assistance with eating, personal hygiene, etc. or specific tasks in the workplace.

Within the workplace, individuals could be hired to provide very specific types of services to assist an employee with a disability. One example of "attendant services" is a person hired to provide reading services for an employee with a visual impairment. The person providing the attendant services would be the conduit and not the "do-er". The employee would perform the actual work and be responsible for analyzing content, preparing responses, and making appropriate decisions accordingly.

Another situation requiring "attendant services" at work would be for an employee who has severe cerebral palsy which affects his/her ability to speak and be understood. In this case, a trained professional, an "attendant", would be hired to "speak" for the employee.

While this service would be provided and paid for by the employer, the employee would be responsible for identifying and hiring the person who would provide this service.

Reader Services - are services provided for an employee with a visual impairment. This is similar to Attendant Services - in that an employee would have an individual with them who could read various documents to the employee with a visual impairment. The "reader" would do the reading while the employee would make decisions based on the information the "reader" read.

While the reader service would be provided and paid for by the employer, the employee would be responsible for identifying and hiring the person who would provide this service.

Sign Language Interpretive Services - such as the American Sign Language Services (ASL) is a visual language with its own vocabulary, grammar, syntax and social rules of use, distinct from English. It is used by Deaf people/employees primarily in Canada and the United States

Other Resources Employees May Want to Refer to:

• Canadian Mental Health Association for employees who require different types of mental health services
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health for employees who may have addiction and mental health-related problems
• Counselling and Emergency Counselling Sessions provided through Health Canada Employee Assistance Services
  • Available 24 hours a day/365 days a year
  • 1-800-268-7708 
• Compensation and Benefits