Hold the Applause: Clapping Banned to Reduce Individual Anxiety | Vey Willetts LLP

1. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 Hold the Applause: Clapping Banned to Reduce Individual Anxiety https://www.vwlawyers.ca/

2. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 Manchester may be best known for its premiership football teams and spawning the likes of Oasis and The Smiths, however, the City was in the headlines last month for something quite different: its Student Union (“MUSU”) voted to replace clapping at all of its events with “jazz hands” (i.e. the practice of waving open hands in the air). https://www.vwlawyers.ca/

3. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 The ban, which also seeks to limit ‘whooping’ and ‘cheering’, comes in response to MUSU’s concern that traditional clapping may cause issues for students with anxiety and/or sensory issues, and as such would allow the organization to be more inclusive.This move is not the first of its kind. In 2015, another UK organization, the National Union of Students (“NUS”) resolved to ban clapping in favour of “jazz hands.” At that time, the general-secretary at the London School of Economics student union told the BBC that “jazz hands are used throughout NUS in place of clapping as a way to show appreciation of someone’s point without interrupting or causing disturbance, as it can create anxiety.” https://www.vwlawyers.ca/

4. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 Adoption of a “Jazz Hands” Policy May Lead to New ProblemsMUSU’s decision to replace clapping with “jazz hands” has received a mixed response – with some championing its inclusivity while others have referred to it as political correctness gone mad. While MUSU’s decision is undoubtedly rooted in good intention and a desire to ensure inclusivity, accommodation is a complex, multi-faceted issue and it is difficult to have a one-size fits all approach in this regard. https://www.vwlawyers.ca/

5. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 Clapping in Ontario Workplaces – Managing Competing RightsThe adoption of “jazz hands” policies raises an interesting issue for Ontario workplaces. While, as far as we are aware, no organization in our province has yet to limit clapping in the workplace, given the statutory requirement for all employers to provide reasonable accommodation of employee disability, such a move could be foreseeable. https://www.vwlawyers.ca/

6. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 The situation becomes more challenging for employers when the reasonable accommodation of one employee would simultaneously discriminate against others (see the relevant Ontario Human Rights Commission Policy here). For example, and analogous to the above “jazz hands” scenario, an employee requires a service dog to perform her job, however, one colleague has a phobia of dogs, while another is highly allergic to dog hair and dander.  https://www.vwlawyers.ca/

7. Call Us at (613) 317-4614 Thank You https://www.vwlawyers.ca/