Enabling Change for Retailers: Make Your Store Accessible
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DECEMBER 2019 MARCHGuidebook 2019 SpecialFor Edition WhiteRetailers Paper EnAbling Change for Retailers: Make your Store Accessible Table of Contents 1. Accessible stores ......................................................................... 7 1.1 People with disabilities: facts and figures ...................................................................... 7 1.2 Types of disabilities ................................................................................................................. 8 1.3 Legislation ..................................................................................................................................10 1.4 Skilled talent pool .................................................................................................................... 11 2. Accessible customer service ...................................................... 13 2.1 Barriers to accessible customer service ....................................................................... 23 2.2 Support persons ..................................................................................................................... 23 2.3 Guide dogs and other service animals .......................................................................... 24 2.4 Assistive devices .................................................................................................................... 27 2.5 Customer service policy ..................................................................................................... 30 3. Accessible recruitment and retention ...................................... 32 3.1 Job posting notices ............................................................................................................... 32 3.2 Reviewing job descriptions ................................................................................................ 34 3.3 Job requirements ................................................................................................................... 35 3.4 Undue hardship ....................................................................................................................... 36 3.5 Accessible job postings ....................................................................................................... 36 3.6 Interview and/or assessment process........................................................................... 37 3.7 Interview/assessment .......................................................................................................... 39 3.8 Selecting the successful applicant ................................................................................... 41 3.9 Manager training on assessible hiring process ......................................................... 44 4. Accommodation process and return to work .......................... 46 4.1 Duty to accommodate ........................................................................................................ 46 4.2 Developing a written accommodation process ....................................................... 46 4.3 The accommodation process ...........................................................................................48 4.4 Accessible formats and communication support of accommodation ............ 55 5. Emergency response in the store ............................................. 56 5.1 Providing emergency response information .............................................................. 56 6. Return to work (RTW) process ................................................. 58 6.1 The return to work (RTW) process ............................................................................... 60 6.2 Leading practices for the return to work process ................................................... 63 7. Accessible communications ...................................................... 65 Guidebook for Retailers EnAbling Change for Retailers: © Retail Council of Canada 2019. All rights reserved. 2 Make your store Accessible 7.1 Accessible website guidelines .......................................................................................... 65 7.2 Assistive technology ............................................................................................................. 66 7.3 Accessible digital content Images .................................................................................. 67 7.4 Text .............................................................................................................................................. 68 7.5 Videos ......................................................................................................................................... 68 7.6 Social media ............................................................................................................................. 69 8. References .................................................................................. 71 9. Resources .................................................................................. 72 Guidebook for Retailers EnAbling Change for Retailers: © Retail Council of Canada 2019. All rights reserved. 3 Make your store Accessible About Retail Council of Canada Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is the Voice of Retail in Canada representing more than 45,000 store fronts of all retail formats, including department, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online merchants in general merchandise, grocery and drugs. Its membership represents over two thirds of all retail sales in Canada. RCC is a strong advocate for retailing in Canada and works with all levels of government and other stakeholders to support employment growth and career opportunities in retail, to promote and sustain retail investments in communities from coast-to-coast, and to enhance consumer choice and industry competitiveness. RCC also provides its members with a full range of services and programs including education and training, benchmarking and best practices, networking, advocacy, and industry information. Retail Council of Canada acknowledges the support of the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Seniors and Accessibly. Copyright © Retail Council of Canada 2019. All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. It is illegal to copy this resource in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying. By accepting receipt of this document, you are liable to abide by copyright law. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database and retrieval system, without the prior written permission from Retail Council of Canada. Contact Retail Council of Canada: 1881 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto ON M4S 3C4 Telephone (toll-free): (888) 373-8245 E-mail: [email protected] Printed and bound in Canada Guidebook for Retailers EnAbling Change for Retailers: © Retail Council of Canada 2019. All rights reserved. 4 Make your store Accessible Message from Retail Council of Canada In Canada, over half the population is affected with some form of disability. You may have a friend or family member with a disability, or you may have a disability yourself. Because more than the half the country’s population is affected by various disabilities, retailers need to ensure that their stores are meeting and exceeding the community's needs. To ensure that your store is accessible, Retail Council of Canada has prepared this Guidebook, which has been funded by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Seniors and Accessibly. This Guidebook focuses on improving accessibility standards to benefit your customers, your employees and your overall business. As a retailer, you understand that treating all your customers with respect and courtesy is at the heart of excellent customer service, and your customers and staff deserve to be treated that way. As you review this Guidebook, I urge you to gain a thorough understanding of how hiring people with disabilities can improve employee engagement and moral, and improve your business. If you have any questions about making your store accessible for your customers or employees, please feel free to reach out to Sonny Brar at [email protected], or call toll-free (888) 373-8245, ext. 230. Kind regards, Diane J. Brisbois Guidebook for Retailers EnAbling Change for Retailers: © Retail Council of Canada 2019. All rights reserved. 5 Make your store Accessible Introduction: Did you know that over 50% of Canadians are affected with some form of disability every day? Some individuals are born with disabilities; others will develop them over time. Anyone could become a person with a disability due to accident, illness, or age. The odds are that we already know someone or are working with someone who has a disability, but we just don’t know it. As the population of Canada ages, the number of people with disabilities will increase because the prevalence of disabilities increases as people age. In addition, the person with a disability’s family and friends understand the disability and the impact it can have on the lives of people close to them. This group has witnessed, firsthand, the “challenges” of interacting with mainstream infrastructure and attitudes that people with disabilities encounter in their daily lives.1 As such, people are ready to support stores and businesses that accommodate their family and/or friend’s disability and avoid businesses that don’t. This guidebook is