Measures for placing disabled persons in employment
Employment measures for disabled concern access to personal assistance, wage subsidies for employers, preferential access and counteractions towards differential treatment. One of the agency's units supports the municipalities to help unemployed disabled into the labour market.
Act on Compensation for Disabled Persons in Employment
Persons with disabilities – regardless of disability – are covered by general employment policy measures. If the disability entails a need for special measures or assistance, for example, personal assistance, such measures or assistance can be granted through the Act on Compensation for Disabled Persons in Employment, etc. The objective of these compensation schemes is to enhance and stimulate the possibility of employing persons with disabilities and retaining them in the labour market and to offer them the same possibilities of pursuing a trade or profession as persons without disabilities.
The Act on Compensation for Disabled Persons in Employment consists of three schemes
Personal assistance for persons with disabilities in employment
Subsidies may be granted to a business for the remuneration, etc. of a personal assistant for a disabled employee. Personal assistance can be offered to unemployed people, wage earners and self-employed businessmen who have a need for special personal assistance on account of physical or mental handicap. The objective of the scheme is to offer persons with disabilities the same possibilities of pursuing a trade or a profession as persons without disabilities. The role of this personal assistance is to assist the disabled employee with work-related tasks with which he or she requires special personal assistance due to his or her functional impairment.
Support may also be offered to employees who, on account of permanent and severe physical or mental handicap, require personal assistance outside normal working hours in order to take part in general supplementary and further training in connection with the job in question.
Wage subsidies on the employment of newly educated people
With a view to the gradual integration into the labour market of a disabled person who has completed an educational programme of at least 18 months' duration, which can entitle the individual in question to membership of an unemployment insurance fund, support may be granted with respect to employment by a public or private employer for a period of up to two years after the completed of the educational programme. Employment with subsidies will only be awarded if the person has not succeeded in obtaining employment that has produced the experience in the professional field for which the education programme qualifies him or her. Wage subsidies may be granted for a period of up to one year.
Preferential access
In connection with filling a vacant position, public employers are under an obligation to give a disabled person who has difficulty finding employment in the ordinary labour market preferential access to the vacant position if, in the opinion of the employer, the disabled person in question has the same qualifications as the other candidates for the position.
The Act on Active Employment Measures
This act concerns subsidies for aids, workstation design and layout. Under employment-legislation, subsidies are granted for aids, tools, small-scale workstation design and layout or teaching equipment.
The Unit for Job and Handicap (Specialfunktionen Job & Handicap)
The Unit for Job and Handicap supports Denmark's 94 job centres in the initiatives they provide for people with reduced working capacity. The unit offers seminars, online tools, networking activities, etc. Furthermore, the unit develops new methods as part of employment initiatives to help integrate and retain disabled employees in the labour market.
The unit is part of the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment and is located in Odense together with Regional Labour Market Division South.
The Danish Act on Prohibition against Differential Treatment on the Labour Market
The Danish Act on Prohibition against Differential Treatment on the Labour Market forbids direct and indirect differential treatment and harassment as well as instructions to discriminate on grounds of disability, etc. Disability was inserted into the act as a discrimination criterion that implements parts of Council Directive 2000/78 in establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.
The Danish Act on Prohibition against Differential Treatment on the Labour Market stipulates that an employer may not discriminate against wage earners or applicants with respect to vacant positions, dismissal, transfer, promotion or salary and working conditions. Discrimination with respect to salary conditions is considered to be present where an equal salary is not paid for an equal amount of work or work of equivalent value.
Under the terms of the act, an obligation adjustment applies to persons with disabilities, meaning that an employer must take expedient measures to consider the specific requirements for granting a person with disability access to employment, to work or to success in employment. However, the obligation adjustment does not apply if the employer would as a consequence have a disproportionately heavy burden imposed upon him or her. If the burden is sufficiently alleviated through public measures, it is not considered to be disproportionately heavy.
The prohibition against differential treatment also applies to anyone carrying out counselling and education activities, anyone offering employment, anyone laying down provisions and making decisions on permission to carry out activities relating to self-employment and anyone making decisions concerning membership of and participation in an employee or employer occupation and the advantages enjoyed by the members of such organizations.