Current Status and Challenges: Employment Policies for Persons with Disabilities in Germany

Beschreibung

"In order to further promote the integration of people with disabilities into the general labor market and to address criticism of sheltered workshops, a number of reforms have recently been introduced or are planned in Germany. For the general labor market, the introduction of the Unified Contact Points for Employers in 2022 aims to help employers recruit and employ people with disabilities. Furthermore, the 2024 Act on the Promotion of an Inclusive Labor Market introduced a new level of the noncompliance fine, imposing heavier penalties on firms without any employees with disabilities. This Act also aims to encourage the transition from sheltered workshops to the general labor market. This way, a severely disabled employee who was previously employed in a sheltered workshop can now be counted towards two positions relevant for the fulfillment of the employment quota. In addition, the reform was intended to focus the funds from the noncompliance fine more strongly on the promotion of employment outside sheltered settings. Regarding sheltered workshops, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs has recently identified four areas of action in this context (BAG WfbM 2023). These include 1) pathways into the general labor market through novel concepts of training and guidance for the vocational training phase and greater use of supported employment and the budget for employment, 2) strengthening transitions from sheltered workshops to regular employment, 3) reforming workshops’ income system (increasing subsidies while maintaining the exemption for the minimum wages), and 4) improving participation opportunities for individuals with complex disabilities, through the development of community based support models. In sum, recent reforms indicate a growing policy commitment to strengthening labor market inclusion in Germany. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no scientific evidence regarding the impact of these reforms or reform initiatives on the employment prospects of disabled individuals in the general labor market. Future research should therefore assess whether these measures effectively improve labor market inclusion and facilitate transitions from sheltered employment to regular employment. Given the ongoing criticism from the UN CRPD, demographic change and a growing shortage of skilled workers, evaluating the effectiveness of these policies remains an essential task for both researchers and policymakers." (Text excerpt, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Zitationshinweis

Hiesinger, Karolin & Nancy Reims (2026): Current Status and Challenges: Employment Policies for Persons with Disabilities in Germany. In: International Labor Brief / Korea Labor Institute, Jg. 24, H. 5, S. 11-23.