Spanish Peer Review considers new ways of addressing work incapacity
Newsletter 2010-2
Publication date : 2010-06-14
As
Spain
embarks on a broad review of its social security policy, the issue of social
protection for people suffering from sickness or disability has emerged as an
important theme. Indeed,
several EU Member States have recently shifted away from the traditional
approach in which social benefits for incapacity or disability are paid out on
the basis of concepts such as ‘permanent incapacity’ and ‘working incapacity’. It
is increasingly felt that these concepts have become outdated in a world where lifetime
jobs are no longer guaranteed, and where, the very notion of inherent
permanence can well be questioned. Rather
than providing protection, it is considered that the application of such
concepts could in fact cause people to become excluded from the labour market
at a time when reducing the number of early exits from the labour market and
preventing longterm benefit dependency are matters of urgent concern in
European countries faced with ageing populations and exponential social
protection costs. With
this in mind, the aim of the Spanish reform is to move away from its
benefits-centred approach and to focus instead on boosting the labour-market integration
of people with disabilities, namely by reviewing conditions for obtaining
benefits, encouraging employers and workers to look at people’s abilities
rather than at their disabilities, establishing occupational rehabilitation and
multidisciplinary training programmes, and linking temporary incapacity
benefits to people’s recovery process and job needs, rather than to their
underlying pathology. Other core objectives of the reform are improved
management and cost containment of work incapacity policies. Held
on 4-5 February 2010 and hosted by the Spanish Ministry of Labour and
Immigration, the Peer Review on “Modernising and activating measures relating
to work incapacity” presented an opportunity for Spain and other EU Member States to
discuss the various strategic responses they have or are developing to address
these issues. Representatives from France,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
the Netherlands, Poland, Romania,
Sweden and the United Kingdom,
as well as from the European Commission and stakeholder associations AGE (the
European Older People’s Platform) and EPR (the European Platform for Rehabilitation)
were present. Discussions
during the Review highlighted a number of general and specific issues, ranging
from definitions of professional or permanent incapacity to control and support
mechanisms, cost limitation, inflow management, prevention and facilitation of
labour market participation. In
recent years, the steep rise in disability claimants in several EU Member
States has led to a tightening of eligibility criteria. However, experience has
shown that, in many cases, when access to disability benefits is reduced,
people simply move over to other parts of the social security system. Reforms
must therefore ensure they do not just shift people from one benefits scheme to
another and this requires an integrated approach that is not only centred on
benefits and conditionality (eg making receipt dependent on participation in
employment, vocational rehabilitation and other integration measures) but also
on encouraging and enabling labour-market participation. Indeed,
studies show that overall employment levels of people with disabilities have
remained low, despite efforts at both European and national levels, and despite
the fact that many people with disabilities want to work. This is largely due
to the fact that social protection systems have often not succeeded in
providing sick or disabled people with the necessary services to help them to
(re)-enter the job market. Member States should set up personalised approaches
that focus on people’s capabilities, rather than on what they cannot do, and
that provide stepping-stones to help them to gradually move away from
incapacity to employment. Such approaches should involve rehabilitation and
vocational training, job-search support and work opportunities within a wide
range of employment forms (regular, part-time, subsidised or sheltered). For
such an approach to function properly, employer involvement is essential. In
the past, the role of the workplace and of employers has often been neglected
and the Dutch model, which seeks to shift responsibility for the job retention/
labour-market integration of people with disabilities to the employer, aroused
strong interest among peer reviewers. What’s
more, policies will need to be adapted to take into account the changing nature
of work incapacity. Indeed, OECD estimates show that, today, roughly 30-45% of
the new inflow into disability benefits is composed of people with mental
health problems. Whereas the previous population of benefit recipients was more
likely to be older and male, this population is younger and predominantly
female. Policymakers will have to ensure disability schemes and activation
measures are suitably designed for them. While the Peer Review revealed that
there is in fact a great deal of knowledge relating to good practices that
work, the major question is how to translate this into effective action. This
will require the involvement of social partners and stakeholder groups in the
planning, implementation and evaluation of reforms. Lessons
learned
