Background information

The regional associations of sheltered workshops in North-Rhine Westphalia (WfbM), the Ministry for Labour, Health and Social Affairs in North-Rhine Westphalia, regional labour office and pension insurances are of the opinion that the current legal criteria applicable to people with a disability and in need of a high level of support were set too broad at the national level. With the goal to continue employing people with a high level of support in sheltered workshops or offering them alternative working opportunities, they have developed guidelines to keep as many affected people at their workplaces as possible.

Content of measure

The regional labour office, the regional pension insurances and the municipal associations Rheinland and Westfalen-Lippe are organising a participation process and issued guidelines organising this process. This means that there will be an individual needs assessment to determine whether the affected person with a disability can be granted access to a sheltered workshop or another facility. Furthermore, as part of the participation process there is a qualification process to improve the participants performance ability. People with a high level of support are offered the basic module 'vocational training for people with the need for a high level of support'. After both processes are completed work at a sheltered workshop or at another facility can be resumed/started.

Use of measure

There are no numbers available on people who have entered the participation process nor on people resumed/started working due to these guidelines.

Contents

• Employment retention
• Income protection
• Social protection, incl. pension
• Training and employability

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Disabled workers	Does not apply to businesses	Disabled

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Local / regional government Public employment service Social insurance Public support service providers	No special funding required

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Regional or local level

Involvement

The regional associations of sheltered workshops (WfbM), the Ministry for Labour, Health and Social Affairs in North-Rhine Westphalia, regional governments, the regional labour office and pension insurances took initiative and developed this guideline in cooperation.

Views and reactions

The aforementioned social parnters are of the opinion that the legal criteria 'minimum usabable economic work performance' has been set too broad for people with a high level of support. They determined the common goal to continue employing people with a high level of support in sheltered workshops or offering them alternative working opportunities.

Sources

• 22 June 2020: Vereinbarungzur Teilhabe an Arbeit vonMenschen mit sehr hohen und/oder sehrbesonderen Unterstützungsbedarfenin nordrhein-westfalischen Werkstättenfür behinderte Menschen und/ oderbei anderen Leistungsanbietern (www.mags.nrw)