HR Professional - October/November 2008 - (Page 11)

LEADERSHIP M AT T E R S BY DEBBIE BENNETT KEEPING PACE WITH EMPLOYMENT LAW O ur most obvious skills are in managing people and the way they work within our organizations. But when you entered the human resources profession, did you expect so many aspects of HR to be integrated with emerging legislation? Whether we like it or not, the legal issues facing us are many. Top-of-mind, for example, is the “duty to accommodate.” This is a source of frustration for many employers trying to take the right steps to get an employee back to work, often in situations where the job description and the employee’s restrictions don’t jibe. The problem is exacerbated in situations where the employee and/or the employee’s union don’t share your view of the duty to accommodate, ‘‘ Whether we like it or not, the legal issues facing us are many. and whether the hurdle of undue hardship has been achieved. Even when you are clear on your legal rights and obligations, it’s hard to help an employee understand they’re entitled to accommodation in the job they were hired for, not a job they would prefer to have. Still, it’s always best to try to accommodate difﬁcult cases, not only because it’s the right thing to do but also because you may have to defend your organization before the Human Rights Commission, and that’s when the litany of questions begin. “What did you try?” “What didn’t you try?” “Why?” “Could you have installed a workbench that was adjustable?” “Could you have bought a lifting device to assist getting the product to the bench?” “Were ’’ there safety issues to the employee or other employees?” Another emerging issue is psychological harassment, or “bullying,” which is just as pervasive in the workplace as it is on the playground. The best tactic for HR professionals is to ensure they have bullying and harassment policies to prevent and manage such occurrences. At present, there’s a private member’s bill before the Ontario legislature, which could have a substantial impact on the workplace, if passed. As HR specialists, we ﬁnd ourselves managing other types of legislative change all the time. Take Ontario’s Family Day statutory holiday legislation, which was optional for organizations already giving more than 10 stat holiday days. Remember trying to ﬁgure out whether or not to grant it? A lot of employers spent a lot of money seeking legal opinions, or litigating, just to understand their obligations. These types of changes require HR professionals to stay on top of legislation and know our collective agreements inside and out. The best advice of all comes from J.D. Sharpe, of Ottawa labour and employment law ﬁrm Emond Harnden LLP, who says, “When in doubt, get help.” Consult a colleague, call a lawyer. We are all struggling with the same issues and collectively can come up with the best answers. Debbie Bennett, CHRP, is chair of HRPA’s board of directors. w w w. HRT houghtLeader. c om O c t o b e r / N o v e m b e r 2 0 0 8 11 http://www.HRThoughtLeader.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of HR Professional - October/November 2008

HR Professional - October/November 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Contributors Leadership Matters Upfront Legal Compensation Human Capital Talent Management Murphy’s Law Wise Counsel On Message HR 101 Interview with Joseph McCool Off the Shelf The Last Word

HR Professional - October/November 2008

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