An organizational restructure may eliminate a position, but it does not automatically eliminate an employer's accommodation obligations.

Before ending an employment relationship, employers may need to look beyond whether the employee's existing position still exists. Understanding functional capacity, considering available work, and fully exploring the workplace accommodation process can be critical to determining what options remain.

When a Restructure and Accommodation Collide

A recent case highlighted by HRD Canada shows the risks employers may face when restructuring decisions intersect with an active workplace accommodation.

In Sharma v. Best Buy Canada (No. 2), 2026 BCHRT 173, an assistant store leader was experiencing significant knee pain that limited his ability to stand or walk for more than 15 minutes at a time. His physicians recommended sedentary duties, and he sought alternative work within the company.

His accommodation request was medically supported and accepted on April 20, 2021. Eight days later, Best Buy terminated his employment as part of a company restructuring that eliminated his position.

The restructuring itself was legitimate. The problem was what happened—or did not happen—before the employment relationship ended.

The Question Is Not Only Whether the Current Job Still Exists

Other employees affected by the restructuring had been transferred to comparable positions, and another employee had been demoted. The Tribunal found that similar possibilities were not adequately explored with Sharma despite his expressed interest in continuing to work.

As Tribunal Member Amber Prince wrote, by terminating his employment, Best Buy had

“foreclosed its investigation of reasonable and practical options”

that could potentially accommodate his disability.

The Tribunal ultimately found that Best Buy had not demonstrated that accommodating Sharma in another capacity would have caused undue hardship.

For employers, this distinction matters. When an employee has medical restrictions, the relevant question may extend beyond whether they can perform their existing position exactly as it was previously structured.

Functional Capacity Can Help Define the Options

Accommodation decisions are easier to navigate when employers have a clear understanding of what an employee can safely and reliably do, rather than focusing only on a diagnosis or a list of restrictions.

Functional information may help clarify practical questions: Can the employee perform sedentary work? How much standing or walking is tolerable? Are restrictions temporary or expected to evolve? Could modified duties, hours, equipment, or another suitable role allow the employee to remain at work?

In more complex or unclear cases, further functional or medical assessment may also help employers understand whether proposed duties align with the employee's current capabilities.

Better Information Supports Better Decisions

The Tribunal awarded Sharma more than $60,000 in lost wages, expenses and compensation for injury to dignity, in addition to interest.

The broader lesson for employers is not that restructuring becomes impossible when accommodation is underway. It is that significant employment decisions should not bring the accommodation process to an abrupt end without considering reasonable alternatives.

Before concluding that there is no workable path forward, employers should understand the employee's functional capacity and assess what options may still exist.