AODA training requirements for Ontario organizations
Information businesses and nonprofits must include when training staff on how to interact with people with different disabilities. Organizations and businesses are required to provide accessible customer service training.
Accessible customer service training
You must train all staff who work with customers on how to interact with people with different disabilities. Customers can be anyone who is accessing your organization’s goods or services — including paying and non-paying members of the public and other businesses in business-to-business relationships.
Your training must include:
- An overview of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
- An overview of the requirements of the customer service standard
- Your organization’s policy on providing accessible customer service
- Tips on how to interact with people with various types of disabilities
- Tips on how to interact with people who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or support person
- Information on how to use any equipment or devices available in your organization to help provide goods or services to people with disabilities (for example, screen readers or lifts)
- Tips on what to do if a person with a disability is having difficulty accessing your organization’s goods or services
You must also train your staff when there are any changes to your accessible customer service policies.
Who you need to train
You must provide training to:
- Employees and volunteers who interact with customers on your behalf (paid and unpaid, full-time and part-time)
- Anyone involved in developing customer service policies for your organization (including managers, senior leaders, directors and owners)
- Anyone who provides goods, services or facilities to customers on your behalf (such as external contact centres or facilities management companies)
Provide the training as soon as possible after an employee or volunteer joins your organization.
Maintain records of training
You must also maintain records of your customer service training if you are a private or non-profit organization with 20+ employees, or a public sector organization of any size. You must:
- Maintain written records of all training done to meet the accessibility requirements that apply to your organization
- Record when the training was delivered and how many people took the training
AODA training video series
The following videos can assist your organization in meeting the government’s requirements. This series is intended for organizations responsible for setting up and running the training required under Section 7.
Video series: The Code & AODA (Parts 1–5)
This e-learning series is for the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and completes the training requirements for section 7 of the Integrated Accessibility Standards of the AODA. The series takes about 20 minutes to view.