In 2014, Taiwan enacted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) into domestic law by adopting the Implementation Act of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. One of the core concepts of the CRPD is “Reasonable Accommodation,” which emphasizes the rights of persons with disabilities as rights holders. It aims to ensure that individuals with disabilities can participate on an equal basis in areas such as education, employment, healthcare, culture, and transportation.
Based on this principle, the Workforce Development Agency commissioned a professional team to compile the "Reasonable Accommodation Guidelines for Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities" and held a press conference titled “Administrative Guidance on Reasonable Workplace Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities” on June 26. The event highlighted that those eligible for reasonable accommodation include, but are not limited to, individuals with official disability identification. Persons who experience disabling conditions and can provide supporting evidence of substantial need may also qualify. While persons with disabilities are the primary initiators of accommodation requests, employers may also proactively propose adjustments. Additionally, significant others around the individual may assist in clarifying or supporting the request.
According to Article 2 of the CRPD, “reasonable accommodation” refers to necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments that do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden, where needed in a particular case, to ensure persons with disabilities enjoy or exercise all human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis with others. Eligibility for reasonable accommodation extends beyond those holding official disability certifications and includes, for example, workers recovering from occupational injuries during their treatment or rehabilitation phase. If an accommodation request places a disproportionate or undue burden on the employer and leads to a dispute without resolution, the employer must bear the burden of proof to demonstrate such undue hardship.
To assess whether an accommodation request is reasonable, the following factors should be considered to determine if it would cause a disproportionate or undue burden on the employer: cost of the adjustment, the overall scale of the organization, available resources (including government support), the impact on the organization, positive or negative effects on others, and whether the adjustment meets reasonable health and safety requirements. According to the administrative guidance, when a person with a disability has accommodation needs, employers should consider reasonable accommodation not only in terms of workplace environment or providing hardware and software facilities but also in matters such as performance and pay, training, welfare, job adjustments, duty reassignment, promotion, layoff, dismissal, and retirement.
To facilitate understanding, the following four documents are attached for your review:“Ministry of Labor - Administrative Guidance on Reasonable Workplace Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities”,“Workforce Development Agency - Guidelines for Reasonable Accommodation in Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities”,“Ministry of Labor - Administrative Guidance on Reasonable Workplace Accommodation for Persons with Disabilities”,“Workforce Development Agency - Introductory Briefing on Guidelines for Reasonable Accommodation in Employment Services for Persons with Disabilities”.
