Should I Ask for Work Accommodations… And If So, When?

Looking for work? Just landed a new job? You might have mixed feelings about when – or even if – you should disclose that you will need disability accommodations.

Thanks to human rights laws across Canada, it’s illegal for an employer to treat you differently from other job candidates or workers. They can’t fire you, or decide not to hire you, simply because you have a disability. In fact, they’re required to accommodate your disability, as long as it doesn’t cause them “undue hardship” (they’d have to prove a job accommodation would bankrupt them, or seriously endanger other co-workers, for instance).

But we all know that having the protection in law doesn’t mean it’s always effective in practice. Recruiters and managers may be biased. They may believe that someone with a disability won’t be capable of doing the work. They may be concerned that job accommodations will be expensive. (It’s unlikely. A recent survey of 720 employers found that half the time, the job accommodations they provided had zero cost. Accommodations that did come with a price tag were, on average, relatively inexpensive. You can go to https://askjan.org/topics/costs.cfm for more information about the cost of accommodations.) 

So… when’s the right time to talk about your disability? You don’t ever have to disclose it if you don’t want to. It might be hard to hide a wheelchair, but if your disabilities from spinal cord injury are hidden – if you live with pain, fatigue, bladder dysfunction or post-traumatic stress, for instance – people might not know about it unless you tell them.

There are several reasons why disclosure may be the right choice, however:

• You might require accommodations, such as flexible job hours, even for invisible disabilities.
• If your employer realizes you have a disability, they’re less likely to make incorrect judgments about your performance. For example, if you take more frequent bathroom breaks, or you come in late because your morning routine was glitchy, they won’t assume you’re lazy or undedicated.
• Even if you don’t require any accommodations now, your disability may change over time. It’s possible you may need to ask for new or different job modifications in the future.

Decided to disclose? The next question to ask yourself is when to do it. Here are some considerations:

• If you refer to your disability on your application, you could be rejected solely on that basis (even though it’s illegal), before you’ve had a chance to make a positive impression. But you’re less likely to face discrimination later in the hiring process, because it won’t come as a surprise to the employer.
• If you wait until the job interview, you have an opportunity for a face-to-face discussion. You get a chance to explain how you’ll carry out your job duties and mention any accommodations you might need. This can prevent your employer from making false assumptions about your disability. However, it might also trigger a lot of disability-related questions that hijack the interview. You might not get as much time to showcase your abilities.
• If you mention your disability after you’ve been offered the position, you may feel more secure in the knowledge that the job can’t be taken away. (It would be harder for your employer to defend charges of discrimination, compared to during the application process.) But your employer may feel misled. Even though it’s your right to disclose your disability when and if you choose to, your employer is human. They may feel you’ve been dishonest, and this could affect your relationship going forward.
• If you wait until you’ve been on the job for a while, you’ll have had a chance to prove you’re a capable worker before anyone knows about your disability. And, again, you’ll know you can’t be fired for having a disability. But you might encounter the same feeling of distrust from your employer. Plus, if you haven’t yet asked for the accommodations you need, you may be struggling to perform your duties.

If you do decide to talk with the recruiter or employer about your disability, keep these tips in mind:

• You don’t have to tell your employer the actual cause of your disabilities. In most cases, they’re not allowed to ask for a diagnosis. If you’re requesting accommodations, you should discuss your disability with regards to how it affects your ability to carry out certain tasks.
• Offer specific solutions. Your employer may have no idea what you need from them in order for you to perform well on the job, and will appreciate your expertise.
•  Keep it positive. Tell the employer how effective these accommodations were in previous jobs, or at school.
• Lastly, be open-minded. Your employer may have a suggestion that will work and would be considered a reasonable accommodation, even if it isn’t exactly what you had in mind.