Accessibility

_{Wednesday August 8th, 2023}

Richmond Station is committed to ensuring equal access and participation for people with disabilities. We are committed to treating people with disabilities in a way that allows them to maintain their dignity and independence. We believe in integration, and we are committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner. We will do so by removing and preventing barriers to accessibility and by meeting our accessibility requirements under Ontario’s accessibility laws.  

1.0 Training

We are committed to training all staff in accessible customer service and aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities.  

In addition, we will train:

Training of our employees on accessibility relates to their specific roles and includes:

We train every person as soon as practically possible after being hired or promoted and provide training in respect of any changes to our policies. We maintain records of the training provided including the dates on which the training was provided and the number of individuals to whom it was provided. 

2.0 Assistive Devices

People with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our services or facilities. In cases where the assistive device presents a significant and unavoidable health or safety concern or may not be permitted for other reasons, other measures will be used to ensure the person with a disability can access our services or facilities.  We ensure that our staff are trained and familiar with various assistive devices we have on site or that we provide that may be used by customers with disabilities while visiting with us. 

3.0 Communication

We communicate with people with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability.  This includes using the telephone for real time conversations with guests about their needs, making our policies and commitments available on our website and training our staff to host people with disabilities in a way that accommodates the guests unique circumstances.   

4.0 Service Animals

We welcome people with disabilities and their service animals. Service animals are allowed on the parts of our premises that are open to the public and third parties.  When we cannot easily identify that an animal is a service animal, our staff may ask for documentation from a regulated health professional that confirms the person needs the service animal for reasons relating to their disability.    

A service animal can be easily identified through visual indicators, such as when it wears a harness or a vest, or when it helps the person perform certain tasks.  

If service animals are prohibited by another law, we will do the following to ensure people with disabilities can access our services:

Service animals are prohibited from entering the kitchen area

5.0 Support Persons

A person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person will be allowed to have that person accompany them on our premises.  Support persons are not required to purchase anything to occupy a guest seat at the restaurant.   

6.0 Notice of Temporary Disruption

In the event of a planned or unexpected disruption to services or facilities for customers with disabilities, Richmond Station will notify customers promptly.  This communication will include information about the reasons for the disruption, its anticipated length of time and a description of alternative facilities or services, if available. 

7.0 Notice of Availability of Documents

Richmond Station makes public on our website all the documents related to accessible customer service.  As well, documents can be made available in hard copy or alternative accessible formats on request. 

8.0 Employment

We notify employees, job applicants and the public that accommodations can be made during recruitment and hiring. We notify job applicants when they are individually selected to participate in an assessment or selection process that accommodations are available upon request.  We consult with applicants and provide or arrange for suitable accommodation. 

We notify successful applicants of policies for accommodating employees with disabilities when making offers of employment.  We notify staff that supports are available for those with disabilities as soon as practicable after they begin their employment.  We provide updated information to employees whenever there is a change to existing policies on the provision of job accommodation that take into account an employee’s accessibility needs due to a disability.  

When employees move to a different location in our organization, our management team create an individualized workplace emergency response plan. Every employee on our team receives a bi-monthly check in with their manager and its at this time that we review overall accommodation plans with all employees. Emergency response plans are an important part of maintaining a safe work place, and we recognize that employee’s with disabilities are entitled to individualized emergency response plans. We review our emergency response plans annually at the same time that we renew the tags on our fire extinguishers and fire suppression.

We have a written process for employees who have been absent from work due to a disability and require disability-related accommodations in order to return to work. Our performance management, career development and redeployment process take into account the accessibility needs of all employees.  

9.0 Changes to Existing Policies

Any policies that Richmond Station may have that do not respect or promote the principles of dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity for people with disabilities will be modified or removed.

Introduction
Richmond Station is a stopping place. A bustling neighbourhood restaurant in the downtown core. We are committed to delicious food and excellent hospitality. We are also committed to training all staff in accessible customer service and aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that relate to persons with disabilities.

We train every person as soon as practically possible after being hired or promoted and provide training in respect of any changes to our policies.
People with disabilities may use their personal assistive devices when accessing our services or facilities.
Support persons are not required to purchase anything to occupy a guest seat at the restaurant.

Richmond Station strives to meet the needs of its employees and customers with disabilities and is working hard to remove and prevent barriers to accessibility. We are committed to fulfilling our requirements under the Accessibility for ONtarians with Disabilities Act, 2005. This accessibility plan outlines the steps we are taking to meet those requirements and to improve the opportunities for people with disabilities. Our plan shows how we will play our role in making Ontario an accessible province for all Ontarians. This plan is reviewed at least once every 5 years. We train every person as soon as practicable after being hired and provide training in respect of any changes to our policies. We maintain records of the training provided including the dates on which training was provided and the number of individuals to whom it was provided.

Section 1: Past Achievements to Remove and Prevent Barriers
1.1 Customer Service
In 2022 we learned from an incident where our building’s shared lobby accessible water closet was under construction through the landlord’s direction. At the time, we didn’t think to notify guests of this construction project as we make use of this amenity very rarely. When a guest with accessibility accommodations needed to make use of this amenity, we followed our normal process for hosting them in this area of the building. But of course, the construction material made this difficult and with their feedback we were able to identify the gap in our process for both communicating and offering this amenity.

1.2 Information and Communication
After the incident outlined above, we have since refrained from describing our space as partially accessible since the main floor amenity included in our building lacks appropriate sized doorways and support bars on the wall. We also have a new process for communicating with guests about changes to our space that happen periodically due to construction in our building, or in our community.

1.3 Employment
Restaurants are an inherently difficult space to make accommodations for employees without incurring “undue hardship”, as outlined by the IASR. Stoves, countertops, fridge doors, countertop heights are just a few examples of items that arrive to us in standard dimensions. However, we are progressive in our approach to mental health among our staff and recognize anxiety and alcoholism as examples of disabilities that require employer accommodation.

Section 2: Strategies and Actions
2.1 Customer Service
We are currently developing an improved pathway for customer communication regarding accessibility accommodations in advance of their arrival for reservations. This includes an outreach button on our website that links directly to our concierge. At the same time, we are evolving the reservation tags we use in our CMS tool to better track past requests and accommodate future requests.

2.2 Information
We are evolving the reservation tags we use in our CMS tool to better track past requests and accommodate future requests. Our CMS information connects to our point of sale system and both of these integrations are relied on by our tableside staff on a moment to moment basis. The benefit of having more adaptive tools as it pertains to accessibility will mean we are better able to offer disabled guests the same experience as their able bodied peers in the same space.

2.3 Employment
Richmond Station is committed to being a first in class employer, not just in the hospitality sector, but writ large. We are supporting the IASR by leaning heavily into workplace training on AODA. We have always had a robust set of policies that introduce and develop awareness, acknowledgement and fluency of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC underpins all our employment policies and we have a well laid plan to include IASR in this existing structure so that we can lead the way for our industry by getting the leaders of today and tomorrow ready for the compassionate and empathetic hospitality required to fairly acknowledge customers and employees with disabilities.

_{FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS ACCESSIBILITY PLAN, PLEASE CONTACT}

_{Ryan Donovan
Director
Richmond Station
1 Richmond St W
Suite 120
Toronto, ON
M5H 3W4
647 748 1444
ryan@richmondstation.ca}

We want your feedback on this issue. If you require additional assistance, we want to make arrangements to accommodate your needs. You can reach us by contacting concierge@richmondstation.ca.