Disablement in Slovenia: employment issues

1
Disablement in Slovenia employment issues

• Natalija Jesenicnik
• YHD- Association for theory and culture of
  disability
• London Oct.2007

2
Research in the field of employment

• a review of legislation dealing with employment
  of disabled people
• qualitative research from 2006
• questionnaires for all rehabilitation counselors
  at Employment service of Slovenia
• interviews with providers of vocational
  rehabilitation
• Rights of People with Intellectual
  Disabilities, Darja Zavirsek and Spela Urh
  national report for EU Monitoring and Advocacy
  Program of the Open Society Institute in
  cooperation with Open Society Mental Health
  Initiative.

3
Disability companies

• First disability companies were established in
  Slovenia in 1988
• At least 40 of all the employees must be
  disabled
• Currently 166 disability companies, 13.580
  employed in disability companies, 6.348 disabled
  persons
• In 2005 the average gross income of disabled
  workers was 32,2 lower than average gross
  income of nondisabled workers in disability
  companies (Ministry of work, family and social
  affairs) .

4
Number of disabled people in Slovenia
(31.12.2005, Employment Service)
Number of disabled
All disabled All disabled 161.856 8,1 of whole population
Retired (without age retired) Retired on a base of disability 96.600 66.8 of all disabled
Retired (without age retired) Disabled before 18. years old 7.557 66.8 of all disabled
Retired (without age retired) military 4.037 66.8 of all disabled
Employed In regular work environment 22.864 54.8 of all disabled on labor market (there is 53.662 disabled persons on labor market)
Employed In disability companies 6.554 54.8 of all disabled on labor market (there is 53.662 disabled persons on labor market)
In evidence of Employment Service of Slovenia In evidence of unemployed persons 9.135 17,0 of all disabled on labor market
In evidence of Employment Service of Slovenia In evidence of unemployed according to other laws 15.109 28,2 of all disabled on labor market
5
Number of unemployed disabled people (Employment
Service)
By year All unemployed Unemployed disabled
1990 44.623 2.167
1992 102.593 4.126
1994 127.056 5.564
1996 119.799 8.671
1998 126.080 12.528
2000 106.601 17.179
2003 95.993 22.112
2005 92.575 24.247
6
Comparison between unemployment rate of disabled
persons and general unemployment rate by the end
of 2006 (Employment Service)
7
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of
Disabled Persons Act (ZZRZI)

• By this law, disabled person is an individual who
  has
• permanent consequences of a physical or mental
  injury or illness
• difficulties with activities that have influence
  on persons employment and
• inclusion barriers into working environment as
  defined in International Classification of
  Functioning, Disability and Health
• The status of disabled person by this law
  can get a person that doesnt have status of
  disabled person by any other regulations and is
  registered as unemployed person at Employment
  service of Slovenia.

8
Quota system

• Fund for Promoting the Employment of the Disabled
  from 2006 directs the implementation of quota
  system
• Employers with more than 20 employees are obliged
  to fulfill the quota by employing, a contract on
  business co-operation between employer and
  disability company or employment centre or by
  paying the amount of money
• 2 quota for
• fishing industry, commerce, repairs of
  vehicles and consumer goods, catering, financial
  agencies, public administration, defense,
  mandatory health security and other public, joint
  and personal services
• 4 quota for
• construction industry, transport, storage
  and communications, real-estate business, lease,
  rent and other businesslike services and
  education
• 6 quota for
• agriculture, hunting, forestry, mining
  industry, processing activities, supply with
  electricity, gas and water, health care and
  social security.

9
ZZRZI also introduced

• Supported employment
• Protected employment- Employment Centers
• Vocational rehabilitation
• Employment in disability companies
• Incentives for employment

10
Supported and protected employment

• Supported employment of disabled persons in
  regular work environment with professional and
  technical support of person, employer and work
  environment.
• Protected employment for disabled people who were
  estimated not capable to work in regular work
  environment, and is carried out in so called
  employment centres.
• According to Fund for promoting employment of
  disabled till October 2007 only one realised
  supported employment
• By July 2007 14 Employment Centres were
  established with 160 employees .

11
Social inclusion programmes

• Those people, who are in the process of
  evaluation of their work ability estimated as not
  employable, can enter social inclusion programmes
  which are carried out by 21 organizations who
  became concessionaires.
• Act Concerning Social Care of Mentally and
  Physically Handicapped Persons assigns the status
  of disabled person to children with moderate,
  severe or profound intellectual or physical
  disability and with that status they cant
  qualify for independent living and work- they are
  excluded from the labour market

12
Vocational rehabilitation

• Employment Service of Slovenia with
  rehabilitation commissions
• network of providers of vocational
  rehabilitation one public institution and 12
  concessionaires, who gain concession for four
  years

13
Services that are being carried out in the frame
of vocational rehabilitation are

• a) counseling, promoting and motivating disabled
  persons for taking more active part
• b) preparing opinion about work ability,
  knowledge, working habits and occupational
  interests
• c) help at accepting own disability and informing
  about possibilities of inclusion in training and
  work
• d) help at choosing suitable occupational goals
• e) developing social skills
• f) help at searching suitable work or employment
• g) analysis of concrete working place and working
  environment of disabled person
• h) making a plan of adjustments for working place
  and working environment of disabled person
• i) making a plan of needed equipment and means of
  work
• j) on the job training
• k) coaching and professional help at training and
  in education
• l) coaching of disabled person on work place
  after employment
• m) evaluation of rehabilitation process
• n) evaluation of achievement of work results of
  disabled persons

14
Scheme of the process of vocational
rehabilitation (Employment Service of Slovenia)
Disability status and the right to vocational
rehabilitation
application
preliminary opinion
ESS Rehabilitation counsellor
rehabilitation commission
rehabilitation plan
R EHA BI L I T ATI O N
opinion
V O C A T I O N A L
decision about the right to vocational
rehabilitation
decision about disability status
Providers of vocational rehabilitation
Services of vocational rehabilitation
Final assessment of disabled persons employment
possibilities
EMPLOYABLE
NOT EMPLOYABLE
Ordinary work environment
Protected employment
Programmes of social inclusion
Disability companies
Labour market
Supported employment
EMPLOYMENT CENTERS
15
Sheltered workshopsReport on Rights of People
with Intellectual Disabilities

• Sheltered workshops serve as a social welfare
  service for adults with disabilities, providing
  guidance, care and employment under special
  conditions. The term employment under special
  conditions refers to work (including producing
  goods) and also to the development of skills and
  work habits.
• In 2004 there were 29 public sheltered workshops
  in Slovenia, comprising 15 independent
  workplaces five in centres for social work, five
  in special schools and five in training
  institutions.
• In 2001 over 2000 people with intellectual
  disabilities (mostly of a moderate degree) were
  working in sheltered workplaces
• Most of the workers in sheltered workshops are
  men between 26 and 36 years old
• On average the award is between 17 and 83 per
  month
• Example of good practice

16
Recommendations

• We can say that the new law doesnt stimulate
  people to test their abilities in practice or to
  try to find work using services introduced by new
  law no matter what their formal status is or
  their so called type of disability. Access to
  services and programmes dealing with job
  insertion should be based on concrete, individual
  needs of a person and not on a formal status she
  or he has.
• There should be changes made about the rigidity
  of our legal system regarding easier access from
  social security system to paid employment and
  vice versa. People should have a chance to test
  themselves in paid employment without a fear of
  loosing all social benefits after it.
• Greater emphasis should me made and more support
  in practice should be given to employment of
  people with disabilities in regular work
  environment.

17

• There should be better system of collecting data
  on the field of employment of disabled. The lack
  of official data is an important barrier to
  assessing the situation of people with
  disabilities in Slovenia, especially the
  situation of people with intellectual
  disabilities.
• Services of vocational rehabilitation and all the
  programmes dealing with insertion of disabled
  people on the labour market should be evaluated
  and providers of vocational rehabilitation should
  follow up what is happening with a person after
  he or she finished the programme and give them
  support and help at searching a job.
• There should be incentives to encourage
  programmes and projects that bring good results
  and can be called good or promising practices on
  the field of job insertion of people with
  disabilities.