I need to care for a family member. What does my employer have to do?

Most employers have rules that apply to everyone in the workplace. Some examples are rules about hours of work and taking a vacation.

Other rules might apply to a specific job. For example, you might have to do your job at a certain place.

Human rights laws

Ontario's human rights laws say that people should not be discriminated against at work. This means that your employer must do what they can to make things fair for you.

This includes treating you fairly at work when you're caring for a child or parent. This is called protection.

Family status refers to relationships that are like the relationship between a parent and child. This means that it's a relationship where you take care of and are responsible for someone and are committed to doing that. For example, family status protection could include a nephew or a younger sister who you're raising like your own child.

Accommodation

Employers must treat employees fairly and not based on their family status.

If you cannot follow a workplace rule because of your family status, your employer may have to change how the rule applies to you. The legal word for this is .

Accommodation can be different for different people. It depends on what you need. For example, your employer might let you:

  • take a leave of absence to care for your sick child
  • change your schedule or your work hours while you care for your parent
  • work somewhere other than your regular place, if you're able to do your job there

Talk to your employer

Let your employer know that you need accommodation to care for a family member. Your employer must try to make things fair for you.

And you must work with your employer to find reasonable ways to solve your problem. What's reasonable depends on your situation and needs. It can also depend on your employer's situation.

Your employer does not have to you if they can prove that it would cause them .

Accommodation needs to be appropriate

Accommodation does not have to be exactly what you asked for. But it does have to be appropriate. This means that you should be able to work and care for your family member.

If your employer does not accommodate you, this might be .

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