Caregiving-related accommodation requests climbed more than half of the surveyed firms
Fifty-nine percent of Canadian employers received more requests for employee mental health leaves or accommodations over the past year, and 51 percent reported more requests tied to family or parental status and caregiving responsibilities.
The Littler 2026 Canadian Employer Survey Report found smaller shares reporting increased requests related to physical disability (28 percent), neurodivergent employees (14 percent), and religious practice (nine percent).
Sixteen percent reported no increase in any category, a finding that sits alongside earlier survey evidence on how openly employees disclose mental health concerns.
Half of respondents have increased the number of days employees are required to work in person over the past two years.
Among that group, Littler found, 81 percent reported a rise in remote-work requests based on protected grounds under applicable human rights legislation, requests the report notes can trigger an employer’s duty to accommodate, with 23 percent describing the increase as large and 27 percent as moderate.
Requests based on personal preference rather than protected grounds were more widespread at 91 percent, including 15 percent to a large extent and 40 percent to a moderate extent.
Some remote-work requests that initially appear to rest on personal preference, particularly those tied to caregiving, may later be framed as protected-ground accommodation questions, according to the report, though the scope of protection varies by jurisdiction.
Family status is not a protected ground in Québec.
“Flexible work has settled into a ‘new normal’ in the workplace. The question now for employers is how to manage it alongside evolving expectations around in-person work and accommodations,” said Stephen Shore, a partner in Littler’s Toronto office and office managing partner for the firm’s Canadian offices.
Seventy percent of Canadian respondents take a hybrid or otherwise variable approach to on-site work.
Twenty-seven percent said employees are hybrid with a fixed number of required in-office days, 25 percent said employees are fully onsite and five percent said employees are fully remote.
In the United States, Littler’s 2026 Annual Employer Survey found 77 percent reporting a hybrid or variable approach, 16 percent fully onsite and six percent fully remote.
Québec’s modernized occupational health and safety regime took effect on October 1, 2025, and requires employers to integrate psychosocial risks into workplace health and safety prevention measures.
Establishments with 20 or more workers must implement a prevention program, while those with fewer than 20 workers must implement an action plan, the report states.
Forty percent of Québec respondents have developed or updated prevention programs, policies or action plans addressing psychosocial risks, 37 percent have enhanced processes for reporting, investigating or addressing complaints and incidents, and 32 percent have conducted an assessment of psychosocial risks in the workplace.
Twenty-nine percent have taken no steps at all, a gap that follows new provincial rules on psychosocial hazard prevention.
Littler noted the results may overstate progress, as some respondents reported measures that were already in place before the latest requirements took effect, and said failure to take required preventive measures could complicate an employer’s defense in harassment or other cases.
“Having a policy on the books isn’t necessarily enough. Québec employers shouldn’t assume that existing policies or smaller headcounts mean they’re covered as workplace regulations evolve,” said Olivia Girouard, of counsel in Littler’s Montréal office, in the report.
Plan sponsors have faced similar pressure to move from reactive disability spending toward prevention.
Among respondents with Québec operations, 98 percent said compliance with French-language obligations creates challenges, with 61 percent describing the impact as large (25 percent) or moderate (36 percent).
