Employees On "Stress Leave" — Tips For Handling Employee Requests To Remain Off Work

As employees return to the workplace throughout the phases of provincial reopening in Saskatchewan, employers may be faced with requests from employees to remain away from the workplace. While there may be several reasons for employees to make such a request, one common reason many employers have seen in the past is time off due to "stress," or other generic catch-all terms for possible disability issues.

Duty to Accommodate

An employee's request for "stress leave" or related modifications to their work duties may trigger an employer's duty to accommodate, pursuant to the grounds of disability or perceived disability under human rights legislation. Where a protected ground is established, an employer has a duty to accommodate the employee to the point of undue hardship. To establish undue hardship, an employer needs to provide justifiable reasons for not providing accommodation. As a result, the manner in which such requests are handled is as important as the