Yours rights

Since the Act of July 10th, 1987, companies with more than 20 employees are held to an employment duty of at least 6% of persons with disabilities in their workforce. The law of February 11th, 2005 reiterates this obligation and extends it to new categories of persons with disabilities.

What people with disabilities are affected?

The only fact of having a disability is not enough to be recorded in the 6%. You should be part of the categories below:

• Holders of a disabled adult allowance (AAH) 
• Workers persons with disabilities recognized by the Rights and autonomy of people with disabilities Committee. (CDAPH) (ex-COTOREP), 
• The accident at work or occupational disease victims with a permanent, partial disability or at least equal to 10% and holders of an annuity paid by the social security system, 
• Holders of an invalidity pension with a reduction of 2/3 of their work capacity,
• Former military and related holders of an invalidity pension, 
• The war widows not remarried and orphans aged under 21 years,
• The war widows remarried with at least one child dependents with the deceased,
• The voluntary firefighters, victims of an accident in the in the exercise of their function.

What sanctions for employers not complying with the obligation to employ 6%?

• The payment of a financial contribution.

Since the Act of July 10th, 1987, companies from the private sector who have not reached the 6% must pay a contribution to AGEFIPH.

Since the Act of February 11th, 2005, public employers must also pay a financial contribution to the Fund for the integration of persons with disabilities in the public service (FIPHFP).

The financial contribution is calculated in the same way in the private sector and the public sector. Find on AGEFIPH website the rules for calculating. This financial contribution may be very high. For example, a company of 2,000 employees who doesn’t hire any people with disabilities must pay approximately 600,000 euros each year.

Since the Act of February 11th, 2005, to ensure the equal treatment of disabled workers, employers must "take appropriate measures" so that disability is not a cause of eviction and only skills are taken into account during recruitment, the preservation in the employment or a professional development.

These measures may concern adaptation of machinery or tools, workstations, access to professional development, coaching and individual equipment necessary for the disabled worker.

The AGEFIPH, for the private sector and the FIPHFP, for the public sector, may participate in the financing of these arrangements.

Another way of fulfilling the employment obligation

The law allows companies to fulfil their employment obligations partly or fully by valuing the efforts on inclusion of persons with disabilities. Companies can thus:

• Conclude a subcontract, a supplies service delivery contracts, provision of disabled workers. Institutions can fill up to 50% of their employment obligations from subcontracts with:

- Companies adapted for the disabled people (e.g. protected workshops),

- The distribution centres of homeworking

- Establishments, or help by labour (e.g. CAT) services.

A formula can calculate from an amount of subcontract a number of beneficiary units.

•  Welcome job seekers with disabilities for training during their internship. The institution can count disabled students welcomed during the year for a minimum of 150 hours per trainee.

It concerns disabled job-seekers welcomed within the framework of an internship. The reception of these trainees is taken into account within the limit of 2% of the workforce coverage.

• Conclude a branch agreement, a company or institution agreement for the employment of disabled people. The conclusion of an agreement concerning the employment of persons with disabilities allows the company to exempt itself from the obligation of employment during the period of validity of the agreement

This agreement has to contain necessarily a plan of hiring persons with disabilities and at least two of the following actions:

an insertion and training plan,
a plan for adapting to technological change,
a plan of preservation in the company in the event of dismissal.

Most companies with an agreement decide to appoint a disability referent internally or create Disability Missions (sometimes within the Diversity Missions) in order to implement the agreement.