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Image: State of Upper Austria/Antonio Bayer
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Image: State of Upper Austria/Antonio Bayer
LINZ. The inclusion of people with disabilities in the labor market offers opportunities for those affected and also for companies. Upper Austria is now focusing on placement in the regular job market. New models and also a subsidy for companies are planned.
Young people with disabilities make up a third of all young employees at the mechanical engineering company Trumpf in Pasching: some of them have learning disabilities and are part of the “integrative training” that takes place in collaboration with Caritas. The furniture company Ikea employs People with different disabilities, for example deaf employees in the restaurants or in logistics, or employees with spastic paralysis at the cash register or those with Down syndrome in the treasure trove and apprentices with learning difficulties. The Wels-based company Kellner and Kunz employs more than 100 people with disabilities; among other things, they put together screw assortments and carry out small assembly work.
Domestic companies employ people with disabilities in different constellations: On the one hand, this can happen through integrative employment or protected work regulated by the Equal Opportunities Act (here people with physical or mental impairments or learning disabilities work in companies and are supported by social welfare institutions). On the other hand, the state of Upper Austria wants to expand work and activity models directly in companies and focus on placement in the primary labor market (regular labor market without subsidies). Work is meaningful, conveys value, contributes to income and also helps companies combat the shortage of skilled workers. “But the employment relationships are fraught with uncertainty for both companies and those with disabilities,” said Governor Thomas Stelzer on Monday at a press conference in Linz: Together with State Councilor for Social Affairs Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer and Angelika Sery-Froschauer, Vice President of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Commerce, he introduced the new ones Measures are intended to make it attractive for companies to offer jobs to people with disabilities and to offer security to both sides.
Image: Peter C. Mayr
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Image: Peter C. Mayr
More advice for companies and people with disabilities
In Upper Austria, 6,727 people with disabilities receive benefits in accordance with the Equal Opportunities Act in the area of work, i.e. they are involved in skills-oriented activities, protected work or professional qualifications. “We are pursuing two central goals. We want to increase the proportion of people who are in integrative employment and bring more people into the primary labor market,” said Hattmannsdorfer: For this purpose, a new employment model, “inclusive temporary employment,” is being created. People with disabilities work directly for a company for a maximum of one year, have a kind of probationary period and are paid according to the collective agreement of the temporary employment agency or the respective industry collective agreement. In the first year there are 50 places in the pilot phase.
In addition, an inclusion subsidy will be introduced for companies to cover wage costs that enable people with a higher degree of impairment to be employed in the primary labor market. This measure is scheduled to start in the fall and is limited to one year. The amount of the subsidy is based on the type, number and severity of the impairments and can be up to 1200 euros per person per month. The exact design is currently being negotiated with the Ministry of Social Affairs.
In order to offer interested companies a central point of contact for advice, the state will operate its own service center that companies can contact with questions. There will also be special inclusion advice for people with disabilities and their relatives: These will also create skills profiles and promote existing skills.
Sery-Froschauer emphasized that people with disabilities can be an asset to companies: “It’s about highlighting people’s strengths. Deaf people and people with autism can work very focused in certain areas.”
SPÖ social spokeswoman Sabine Engleitner-Neu says that she welcomes any measure that enables more people with disabilities to lead a self-determined life. However, companies that have previously not complied with existing employment obligations and had to pay compensation taxes would be rewarded with a bonus. Only 26 percent of companies with 25 or more employees in Upper Austria would fulfill their obligation in this area.
Author
Elisabeth Prechtl
Economics editor
Elisabeth Prechtl
