Overcoming barriers – hiring disabled employees

Hiring disabled employees? Many employers recoil at the idea. But those who hire people with disabilities can receive several thousand euros in funding.

A new van is parked in the yard of the Hastrich carpentry shop in the small town of Happerschoß near Hennef an der Sieg. Owner Dieter Hastrich purchased it for Jörg Gippert. The 37-year-old has been working for the family business, which specializes in conservatories, since June 2005. Gippert, a mechanic, needs the vehicle for his assembly trips. The van cost €37.000, and the Integration Office of the Rhineland Regional Council covered a total of €30.000 of the lease payments, as Dieter Hastrich's employee has been severely deaf since childhood.

Integration Office covers part of the costs

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The fact that Gippert has no communication problems thanks to his hearing aids was not the deciding factor in the funding. "What matters is not the type of disability, but the fact that the degree of disability is at least 50," explains Marco Wilmsen, a specialist advisor at the Cologne Chamber of Skilled Crafts. The Integration Office then covers up to 80 percent of the costs required to create and redesign a disability-accessible workplace, such as machinery or a vehicle. The maximum funding available in the Rhineland is €6.000 per year over a five-year period. Other regions offer similar funding amounts.

Funding is also available from the employment agency

"Diabetes, a previous cancer diagnosis, severe high blood pressure – there are also many illnesses that barely affect work but are considered severe disabilities," says Wilmsen. And employers who provide work to a severely disabled person can receive funding from both the Integration Office and the Federal Employment Agency. 

This is little known among employers. Nor is it known that a new employee only benefits from special protection against dismissal after a six-month probationary period. The civil engineer does a great deal of educational work. Just like the consultants at the Chambers of Crafts in Düsseldorf and Aachen, whose positions were also created by the LVR in cooperation with the chambers, as well as the consultants in Münster, East Westphalia-Lippe, Bielefeld, Arnsberg, and Dortmund, whose positions are made possible by the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe.

Once the consultants have convinced an employer, they handle all official contacts for them to ensure the funding flows quickly. "Without Marco Wilmsen, I wouldn't have seen a single euro to this day. The formalities are quite complicated if you have to handle them alongside your daily business," says master painter Reinhard Götz from Cologne, for example. Two of his 14 employees are deaf.

One of the two deaf men is Oliver Schulz. He had submitted several hundred applications for an apprenticeship. To no avail. It was Reinhard Götz who finally gave Schulz the apprenticeship contract, even though he had 300 other applicants for his job posting. "A young man with such commitment must be given a chance," said the master painter, who simultaneously hired Frank Bauer – also deaf – as an assistant. Oliver Schulz is in his first year of training as a building and object coater. If things continue to go well, he will train as a painter and varnisher in his third year.

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"They are incredibly motivated"

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In addition to the costs of setting up the workplace, the Integration Office also contributes to training costs, such as examination fees and fees for inter-company training. It also covers the sign language interpreter for the exams.

In addition, the employment agency provides a monthly subsidy of €326,55 toward the training allowance. And an interpreter visits the company every last Friday of the month so the boss can better communicate with his employees about current issues. Götz is very satisfied with his deaf employees: "They are incredibly motivated."

"The term 'severely disabled' creates significant barriers for many employers," says Marco Wilmsen. The consultant from the Cologne Chamber of Crafts and Trades (HwK) can vividly demonstrate to master craftsmen that even a severely disabled person can be fully capable of working: The 29-year-old had a serious motorcycle accident three years ago and has been unable to use his left arm since. "But before that, I could only type on the computer keyboard with one finger," says Marco Wilmsen. And he has a special device on his steering wheel for driving. Such technical aids are also funded by the local welfare office or the employment agency. "The funds for this come from the equalization levy," explains Wilmsen.

This equalization levy was also one of the reasons why Franz-Josef Gilgen from Hennef hired Martin Rojahn, a learning-disabled employee. Gilgen's bakery has 200 employees, 42 of whom work in production, and supplies 27 branches in the surrounding area. Simple tasks are a real challenge for Martin Rojahn. "He enjoys doing things that would bore his colleagues," says production manager Franz-Josef Zimmermanns. Marco Wilmsen placed the former house painter with the large bakery through the integration service. The 37-year-old is now the company's "jack of all trades." His primary job, however, is changing, washing, and ironing cloths for the roll stands, the boards on which the rolls are baked and delivered. The Integration Office financed 80 percent of the costs for the washing machine, dryer, and mangle. Because Martin Rojahn was previously unemployed, his new employer also receives a wage subsidy from the employment agency.

Not only does the bakery save on the equalization levy, it also receives a monthly portion of the employer's gross salary for two years. A hiring subsidy was also provided. "I'm here to get the most out of it for employers," says Marco Wilmsen. His close contacts with the Integration Office, the Welfare Office, and the Employment Agency speed up the application process. "Then word gets around among the companies, and colleagues then also hire severely disabled people, and that benefits both sides."

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Compensatory levy : Employers must pay the compensatory levy if they employ more than 20 people and do not employ the required number of severely disabled individuals. The quota is at least five percent (Section 71, Paragraph 1 of the German Social Code, Book IX). This also applies to companies with multiple branches, such as subsidiaries. Employers with 21 to 39 employees must therefore employ at least one severely disabled person. If they fail to do so, they pay €105 per month. Employers with up to 59 employees must fill two mandatory positions. They then pay €105 per month if they employ only one severely disabled person, and €360 (i.e., €180 per person) if they employ none. €260 per person is due if the employment rate is less than two percent. This adds up to a considerable sum per year.