Accessibility Policy

Last updated: 2022-11-09

Accessibility Commitment

ZOLEO is committed to providing a barrier-free, accessible environment for our employees, customers, suppliers, and any visitors who may enter our premises, access our information, or use our products and services.  We strive to ensure a safe, dignified, and welcoming environment for everyone.

ZOLEO is committed to incorporating accessibility into our policies, procedures, and training.  We will continue to adjust and modify our policies and procedures regularly in order to incorporate feedback, changes to legislation and otherwise stay current with best practices.

Definitions

“Assistive device” means a technical aid, communication device, or other instrument that is used to maintain or improve the functional abilities of people with disabilities.

“Disability” means:

  • any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
  • a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
  • a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
  • a mental disorder, or
  • an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan

“Service animal” means an animal accompanying a person with disabilities where it is readily apparent that the animal is used by the person for reasons relating to his or her disability or where the person provides a letter from a physician or nurse who are members of a regulated health professional college confirming that he or she requires the animal for reasons relating to the disability. This definition includes guide dogs used by the blind or visually impaired.

“Support Person” means, in relation to a person with a disability, another person who accompanies them to help with communication, mobility, personal care, medical needs, or access to goods and services.

Products and Services

ZOLEO will make every reasonable effort to ensure that our products and services are consistent with our accessibility commitment and principles of dignity, independence, integration and equal opportunity, and will carry out our responsibilities by:

  • Communicating with persons with disabilities in ways that take into account their disability.
  • Serving persons with disabilities who use assistive devices.
  • Ensuring that persons with disabilities who are accompanied by a support person are permitted to enter at our premises and always keep their support person with them.  In situations where confidential information may be discussed, consent will be obtained from the person with disabilities before any potentially confidential information is mentioned.
  • Ensuring that persons with disabilities who are accompanied by a service animal are permitted to enter our premises and always keep their support animal with them, unless the animal is otherwise excluded by law from the premises or if they pose a health and safety risk.
  • Allowing persons with disabilities to do things in their own ways, at their own pace when accessing our products and services, so long as this does not present a health and safety risk.

Notice or Disruption of Services

ZOLEO will make reasonable efforts to provide advance notice in the event of a temporary disruption to facilities or services that persons with disabilities rely on to access or use goods or services. In the event of an unplanned temporary disruption, advance notice may not be possible. If a notification needs to be posted, ZOLEO will ensure the following information is included (unless it is not readily available or known): goods or services that are disrupted or unavailable, reason for the disruption, anticipated duration, a description of alternative services or options.

Staff Training

The following training will be provided to all employees or volunteers of ZOLEO, every person who participates in developing the policies at ZOLEO, and every other person who provides goods, services, or facilities on behalf of ZOLEO:

  • Review ZOLEO policies, procedures, and practices pertaining to providing accessible customer service to customers with disabilities.
  • Review of the requirements of the customer service standards.
  • How to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities.
  • How to interact and communicate with people with disabilities who may use assistive devices, require the assistance of a guide dog or service animal, or require the use of a support person.
  • Instruction on how to use equipment or devices that are available at our premises or that we provide, that may help people with disabilities.
  • Instructions on what to do if a person with a disability is having difficult accessing our services.

Training will be provided as soon as practicable to new employees, volunteers or contractors and revised training will be provided in the event of changes to legislation, procedures, policies, or practices. ZOLEO will keep a record of training that includes the dates training was provided and the employee(s) who attended training.

Web Accessibility Policy

ZOLEO is committed to excellence in customer experience at all our websites, including persons with disabilities and the aging population.  We are currently working towards compliance with the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.0, level AA standard requirements, which include the following principles:

  • navigation and the access to all functions using a keyboard;
  • consistent navigation and presentation from one page to the next;
  • all page content being accessible through direct links;
  • section titles presented in a coherent hierarchical structure;
  • text written in a clear and concise manner;
  • informative images provided with alternative text;
  • links that provide labels for easy browsing;
  • text that may be enlarged by 200% without any loss of readability;
  • colour contrasts to enhance readability;
  • tables that are simplified and properly tagged;
  • language changes that are properly tagged;
  • multiple ways to access content, including menus, search engine, site map;
  • a focus or input shift that doesn’t provoke any context switch; and
  • information that never conveyed by colour alone.

ZOLEO is committed to continuous improvement of our online customer experience, including accessibility features as they are updated from time to time.

ZOLEO’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

ZOLEO is committed to adapting, reviewing, and amending policies and practices to ensure we are integrating feedback received and ensuring accessibility to all.

ZOLEO's Progress:

Training: ZOLEO provides accessibility training to all employees and team members, including anyone involved in developing ZOLEO policies.

Recruitment, Assessment & Selection Process: ZOLEO is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity in the workplace. Accommodation is available to candidates throughout the hiring process, upon request.

Web Content Accessibility: ZOLEO continues to work to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.0, level AA ensuring that ZOLEO web content is accessible to all.

Regulatory Compliance

As a Canadian-based company, ZOLEO strives to meet all legal obligations related to accessibility as it relates to our products and services, including the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”) and other applicable accessibility legislation in Canada, as well as the World Wide Web Consortium’s WCAG 2.0, level AA standard. 

ZOLEO will also attempt to comply with similar regulations in the countries in which ZOLEO provides services, including where applicable the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), European Accessibility Act, EU Web Accessibility Directive, UK Equality Act of 2010 (“EQA”) and the Australia Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Feedback

If you have any comments, questions or other feedback including complaints about this policy or its related procedures, please contact us by email at accessibility@zoleoinc.com, by mail to ZOLEO Inc., 7A Taymall Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M8Z 3Y8 Canada, Attention: Accessibility, or by calling customer care at the following numbers: +1 888 602 1134 in the US and Canada, 1300 997 859  in Australia and New Zealand.  Additional Contact numbers may be found at www.zoleo.com/contact-us. We will ensure that feedback is handled in a timely manner.

This policy is available in alternate formats upon request.