Absences and accommodations

Everyone will experience some form of illness or injury in their lifetime. Occasionally, an illness or injury is severe enough to impact your abilities, daily activities, and work experiences. When this happens, the University of Waterloo is committed to making every reasonable effort to assist all employees who require accommodations for disabilities in the workplace. This includes active students who may be employed by the University during their studies, including teaching or research assistantships, sessional instruction, post-doctoral fellowships, and other employment arrangements.

This approach is consistent with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB). The Disability Accommodation Guidelines (.pdf) document outlines employee and manager responsibilities and the process involved with requests. Faculty members may contact FAUW's AF&T Committee to review the process.

The Disability Management Guide (.pdf) will provide a summary of your sick leave and long-term disability benefits as well as:

• an overview of the sick leave and long-term disability processes,
• roles and responsibilities, and
• additional information and resources.

Forms and links

• Sick leave/return to work: A Sick Leave - Return to Work Form (.pdf) is required for absences of five consecutive working days or greater.
• Workplace accommodations: Employees can request workplace accommodations by completing the Workplace Accommodation Request Form (.docx)  and Employment Accommodation Form - Medical Verification of Disability (.docx) . Forms should be submitted to Occupational Health.
• Parking for medical accomodations: Please complete the Temporary Parking Accommodation form (.docx) if you require temporary parking for medical accommodation.
• Benefits: For more information on your benefits, please visit https://uwaterloo.ca/human-resources/
• Individualized Emergency Response Plans: Are available to those who self-identify as requiring an accommodation during an emergency. Additional information and the required form can be found on the Individualized Emergency Response Plan page. 

Your Disability Management Team contacts

• Disability Benefits Specialist - Nellie Gomes, Human Resources, ext. 42926
• Occupational Health Nurses:
  • Karen Parkinson, ext. 40538
  • Cassie Hunter, ext. 40551 
  • occupationalhealth@uwaterloo.ca
• Safety/Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) officer – Andrew Scheifele, Safety Office, ext. 36359 (All workplace injuries must be reported as per the instructions at the Safety Office website)