finding proper balance

[canucklady]

This is my first post, I have been reading forums for awhile.

Last week had appt with psychiatrist. She suggested that in order to stay mentally healthy and balanced working part time would be the best option.

I have been on LTD for 18 months. I have professional degree and most people in fact work more than 60 hours a week. For me that is not sustainable.

Just wondering if others here have asked for accommodation at work?

All these years struggling for career and now feel like have lost it all.

[paul m]

Hello Canucklady and welcome. I hope someone here can give you their positive experiences and suggestions. The following are only my opinions and I have no formal training in law.

The duty to accommodate by employers is subject to so many different laws, it is almost impossible to suggest a general answer to that question on this forum due to the complex nature of "duty to accommodate" in Canada right now.

The duty to accommodate is governed by a complicated mix of the human rights code, employment law as set by the federal and provincial gov't, health & safety standards and various court cases that have set standards by allowing/disallowing various requests. Not to mention that the size of the company and/or what service/product it provides can also be a large factor.

I can give you several practical tips

1) The basic over riding statement as far as the courts are concerned is your request going to cause undue hardship or cost on your employer or others. This important as it puts it on the employer should it come to a court case. (that doesn't mean that the system is fair)

Examples of need to accommodate vs undue hardship: A large hospital may be required to give a nurse no night shifts because of mental health concerns, a small nursing home with only 3 nurses rotating through the same shifts would not be required to accommodate that same nurse as it would cause the other 2 nurses to never be able to work days.

Another example would be someone who has specialized knowledge, say a civil engineer, in a company with 50 civil engineers, they may have to accommodate a request for part time work. In a much smaller company, they may not have to as it may be too difficult to hire two people to each work part time.

A 3rd example is that a person must be able to the job when accommodations are allowed. For example if a pilot at Air Canada fails to pass their flight physical due to health problems, then Air Canada (because it's very large) has to make some effort to allow and even help that pilot to correct their problems and/or offer them an alternative job at a corresponding salary etc. Should that pilot not be able to improve their health and/or be unable to do any other job,then Air Canada is not required to keep them.(LTD is a different story)

2)If you are on LTD, the insurance provider of LTD benefits may allow you to go back to work part time for a defined period of time, but whether they would allow you to work part time and continue to receive partial LTD for a long time is something that I have not heard about. Some will let you do it on a trail basis.

In fact depending on your LTD provider, they may insist that your employer phase you back in through working part time at first and latter full time, but again that depends on the LTD provider. I wouldn't tell my LTD provider that your doctor said that you might be able to return to work part time, rather just say that even though you are not able to return to work yet , you are looking at long term options.

3) Part of it may depend on what your employer has done before. If someone in a similar position has been granted similar for a physical problem, then the employer cannot say different for a mental health issue.

4) a pretty good webpage on workplace accommodations including a Q&W forum at the end can be found at http://www.blindcanadians.ca/publica...dian-workplace

I'm sorry that I haven't been more help, but please continue to post. Take Care .paul m

[AJ]

I don't have anything to add to what Paul has posted, I just wanted to welcome you to the forum Canucklady.

[Fighting back]

Well, let me add my welcome as well.

I did go through a return to work at the insistence of the LTD provider, much as Paul outlined in the second paragraph of his second point. Ultimately, it did not work out and I chose to retire, likely much to the relief of the LTD provider.

One thing about the duty to accommodate is that it applies equally to all illness or impairment.This makes it a particularly hard field to navigate both for the individual and the company. Accommodation may be required in terms of hours of service, or specific tasks, or ergonomic considerations among others. Every case is unique and it would be best to negotiate this with your employer rather than through the courts, especially for those suffering from a mood disorder. The challenge of such a fight can be quite damaging to your mental stability and quite counterproductive to the expected outcome. Be prepared when you set out on this journey as shaky goals will only cause confusion and misunderstanding.

In my case, a gradual return to work was deemed desirable. I did return to the office and was given a set of tasks outside my previous duties and presumably, this would lead to a gradual reintegration into my former duties. This process did complete and I found myself in the same situation that led to my initial illness. Of course, I collapsed again within 6 months and I determined for myself that continuing on would be unwise. My duties did not lend themselves well to modification, nor did my work habits.

What I did do on retirement was to find part time work in another field. Yes, this is possible, even for young seniors. I am into my third season of work. My new duties are quite intensive, but the seasonal work lasts 6 to 8 weeks and so far, it has been a success.

One of the biggest challenges with returning to your former place of work is that you will likely feel stigmatized. Unfortunately, this is unavoidable and those feelings may well negate any positive effect of even a partial return to work. "Change is as good as a rest" becomes a very good quotation.