HRPA AODA Policy & Procedures
1. Purpose
In compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, the purpose of this policy is to outline responsibilities of staff personnel (employees, volunteers and other third parties) on behalf of The Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) in providing goods, services and opportunities to people with disabilities.
2. Scope
This policy applies to all staff personnel (employees, volunteers and other third parties).
3. Policy
3.1 Our commitment
HRPA strives at all times to provide its goods, services and opportunities in a way that respects the dignity and independence of people with disabilities. We are committed to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to benefit from the same services and opportunities, in the same place and in a similar way as others.
3.2 Providing goods, services and opportunities to people with disabilities
HRPA is committed to excellence in serving all, including people with disabilities.
This commitment is demonstrated in the areas of:
3.2.1 Communication
We communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability. We train staff personnel on how to interact and communicate with people with disabilities. Our Information Technology websites meet the requirements of WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
3.2.2 Telephone services
We train staff personnel to communicate over the telephone in clear and plain language and to speak clearly and slowly. Our automated telephone answering system has an optional, extensive speech enabled menu.
3.2.3 Assistive devices
devices to obtain, use or benefit from our goods and services. We ensure that our staff is trained and familiar with various assistive devices that may be used by people with disabilities while accessing our goods, services or opportunities.
3.2.4 Billing
We are committed to providing accessible invoices to all of our customers. Invoices will be provided in alternative format upon request. We will answer any questions customers may have about the content of the invoice in person, by telephone or email.
3.2.5 Use of service animals
We are committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal on the parts of our premises that are open to the public. We will also ensure that all staff personnel are properly trained in how to interact with people with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal. Every effort will be made to ensure that any offsite event venues are compliant with HRPA’s commitment regarding service animals.
3.2.6 Support persons
We are committed to welcoming people with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person. Any person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to enter HRPA’s premises or offsite event venues with his or her support person. At no time will a person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person be prevented from having access to his or her support person while on our premises or premises operated by HRPA for event purposes.
3.2.7 Employment
We are committed to welcoming people with disabilities with respect to recruitment, employment, training, career development and career progression.
3.2.8 Facilities
We are committed to ensuring that our premises and related services are welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities. As appropriate, we are willing to provide necessary alterations to our facilities to accommodate people with disabilities.
Notice of temporary disruption
HRPA will provide notice in the event of a planned or unexpected disruption in the facilities or services usually used by people with disabilities. This notice will include information about the reason for the disruption, its anticipated duration and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available.
Training includes the following:
- The purposes of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the integrated standards.
- How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.
- How to interact with people with disabilities who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person.
- How to learn about the use of various assistive devices.
- What to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty in accessing HRPA’s goods and services.
- HRPA’s policies, practices and procedures relating to the integrated standards.
- Staff personnel will also be trained on an ongoing basis when changes are made to these policies, practices and procedures.
4.2 Modifications to this or other policies
All HRPAll HRPA policies and procedures will be developed or updated so as to respect and promote the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities.
4.3 Feedback process
The ultimate goal of HRPA is to meet and exceed expectations of people with disabilities. Comments regarding how well those expectations are being met are welcomed and appreciated. Please email your feedback or questions to info@hrpa.ca. All feedback is directed to Human Resources and responses will follow within ten business days.
Website Accessibility Statement
We want everyone who visits the HRPA website to feel welcome and find the experience rewarding. HRPA is committed to the goals set out in the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, and its regulations. The Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation calls for all new websites for organizations with more than 50 employees to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA. The HRPA website has been designed and tested to comply with this requirement.
What Are We Doing?
To help us make the HRPA website a positive place for everyone and to be compliant with the Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, we’ve been using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities, and user friendly for everyone.
Accessibility Features
Our web site makes use of industry-standard techniques and best practices to provide the highest possible level of web site accessibility for our users, including:
- Any information conveyed with colour is still readable if a user is unable to distinguish colour.
- Images used on our website contain a textual description that will be read out loud within your screen reader.
- All font sizes used on our website use relative units of measurement. This makes scaling the font-size of our web site easier and more consistent.
- All webpages use headings to create a proper document structure. To cycle through the headings on any given web page, press the ‘Tab’ key on your keyboard. Cycle backwards through the headings by pressing the ‘Shift’ and letter ‘Tab’ keys together.
Accessibility Barriers
- Some content is in PDF format only. We are working to reduce our use of PDFs and are publishing new PDFs to be accessible.
- Due to conditions beyond our control, there are some instances where we are unable to provide information in an accessible format (for example, our location map, some RSS feeds, etc). We will introduce accessible solutions as they become available.
How Are We Doing?
We’ve worked hard on the HRPA website and believe we’ve achieved our goal of Level AA accessibility.
We monitor the website regularly to maintain this, but if you do find any problems, please get in touch.
Let Us Know What You Think
If you enjoyed using the HRPA website, or if you had trouble with any part of it, please get in touch.
Email us at info@hrpa.ca.