Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Germany (Ratification: 1989)

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

The Committee notes the observations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) received on 31 August 2023. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments on these observations.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding the measures taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, as well as a general assessment of the implementation of the Convention. The Government indicates that, to consistently attract and retain persons with disabilities in the labour market, the Federal Employment Agency, along with other rehabilitation providers, job centres, and the Integration Offices of the federal states, offers a broad range of specific support, rehabilitation and participation services. Since 1 January 2018, the Federal Act on Participation has expanded options available to persons with disabilities who are not yet able to pursue a regular job due to their impairment. Additionally, Participation Support, a labour market policy instrument introduced in 2018, provides personalized, needs-based support to help individuals prepare for and transition into employment or in-company training. As of 1 January 2020, the Vocational Education and Training Modernization Act allows part-time vocational training for all participants in dual training programmes, including those with disabilities or learning impairments. As of 1 January 2022, the Participation Strengthening Act established single points of contact for employers to provide businesses with independent, cross-agency information and advice on training, hiring and employing people with severe disabilities. They also assist employers in applying for benefits. These service points support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with no prior experience in hiring persons with severe disabilities, alleviating bureaucratic burdens and facilitating compliance with legal hiring obligations. In its observations, the DGB indicates that persons with disabilities in Germany are significantly more likely to experience unemployment. The legal situation regarding the employment of individuals with disabilities and the distribution of responsibilities remains overly complicated. There are still barriers to accessing existing benefits. The DGB adds that, while entitlements exist, bureaucratic obstacles are high, as highlighted by the establishment of single points of contact for employers. The DGB welcomes the fact that businesses, particularly smaller ones, are receiving support in applying for services to include persons with disabilities in the labour market. Nonetheless, this necessity also shows that the process is overly complicated. The Government indicates that, despite a pandemic-related decline in employment in 2020, the number of persons with severe disabilities and those of equivalent status working in companies with at least 20 workers increased by 97,201 (or 9.6 per cent), from 1,014,071 in 2014 to 1,111,272 in 2021. Data concerning the number of persons with severe disabilities employed by companies with less than 20 workers – who are not legally obliged to hire persons with severe disabilities – is collected only every five years. In 2020, this figure was approximately 223,400, compared to around 168,000 in 2015. In contrast, the total number of working-age individuals (ages 15 to under 65) with severe disabilities living in Germany declined by almost 200,000 from 2013 to 2021 (5.9 per cent). The unemployment rate for persons with severe disabilities is calculated based on a limited reference value. Accordingly, the overall unemployment rate in 2021 was 7 per cent, while the unemployment rate among persons with severe disabilities stood at 11.5 per cent. The gap between these two groups has narrowed (from 5.2 percentage points in 2015 to 4.5 percentage points in 2021). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the percentage of employers that are legally required to hire persons with severe disabilities but do not employ any has slightly increased, reaching 25.9 per cent in 2021. To address this issue, as of 1 January 2024, the Act to Promote an Inclusive Labour Market will significantly increase the penalties imposed on these employers, thereby incentivizing them further to hire persons with severe disabilities. The Committee notes from the 2023 concluding observations on Germany’s combined second and third periodic reports that the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) noted with concern the high incidence of unemployment among persons with disabilities, in particular persons with intensive support requirements, the high number of persons with disabilities enrolled in sheltered workshops and the low rate of transition to the open labour market (CRPD/C/DEU/CO/2-3). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, including statistical data, on the impact of the measures taken concerning vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, including those taken to increase the penalties imposed on employers failing to comply with hiring requirements, and those taken to reduce barriers in accessing benefits. It also requests the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the measures implemented to promote employment for persons with disabilities in the open labour market. Additionally, it requests the Government to continue to provide employment statistics, disaggregated by age, sex and the nature of disability.

Article 5. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes the information regarding the consultations with the social partners and organizations of persons with disabilities, including within the Advisory Board for the Participation of Persons with Disabilities. This Board advises on measures, projects and programmes financed by the Compensation Fund. It consists of 49 members, including representatives of employers, workers, and organizations for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the Committee notes the general assessment of the Convention’s implementation included in the Government’s report, which refers to a 2015 study. This study examined the implementation status of the Workplace Integration Management (BEM) programme in industry and identified factors supporting and hindering its implementation by 2018. The results showed that, although the BEM concept is generally favourably regarded, certain quality criteria are lacking in BEM structures and that a culture of trust is urgently required. Obstacles for employers included the amount of information and the high number of offerings. Further areas for improvement that were mentioned include the cooperation of the social partners and the involvement of the Integration Offices. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the content and outcome of the consultations held with the social partners and organizations representing persons with disabilities on the matters covered by the Convention, including within the Advisory Board for the Participation of Persons with Disabilities.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Articles 1–7 of the Convention. National policy and implementing measures. The Committee notes the detailed information provided in the Government’s report, including statistical information, and its response to the Committee’s comments as well as to the observations made by the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) in September 2015. The Committee understands that, under national legislation, the degree of an individual’s disability is measured on a scale from 1 to 100 per cent. An individual found to have a functional impairment of at least 50 per cent is considered as severely disabled. The Government concurs with the DGB’s observation that unemployment rates for persons with severe disabilities have not followed the same pattern as the general unemployment trend. According to the December 2015 report of the Federal Employment Agency, while the unemployment rate for persons with severe disabilities dropped from 15.8 per cent in 2007 to 13.4 per cent in 2015, the unemployment rate for the rest of the population decreased from 11.5 per cent to 8.2 per cent during the same period. Thus, from 2007 to 2015, the gap between the unemployment rates of persons with severe disabilities and the remainder of the population has widened by 0.9 percentage points.

The Committee notes that employers with an average of at least 20 employees a year are required by law to have a workforce composed of at least 5 per cent of persons with severe disabilities. According to the December 2015 report of the Federal Employment Agency, in 2014, employers subject to the quota requirement had 1,014,071 persons with severe disabilities on their payroll (563,919 men and 450,152 women). While it does not replace an employer’s legal obligation, the levy system permits employers that do not employ the prescribed number of persons with disabilities to instead pay a staggered compensation, depending on the degree of the employer’s non-compliance with the required 5 per cent quota. The integration authorities use this compensation to fund professional rehabilitation measures as well as reasonable accommodations at the workplace. The Committee notes that the number of public and private employers subject to the quota requirement that do not employ any persons with severe disabilities decreased from 38.3 per cent in 2002 to 25.7 per cent in 2014. The percentage of persons with severe disabilities employed by all employers subject to the quota requirement increased from 4.3 per cent in 2008 to 4.7 per cent in 2014, falling short of the 5 per cent quota established by law. There remains a gap between private and public employers subjected to the quota scheme. While the workforce of private employers was made up of 4.1 per cent of workers with severe disabilities in 2014, the respective percentage for public employers was 6.6 per cent, exceeding the quota requirement.

The Government considers that despite the higher qualifications of persons with severe disabilities in comparison with persons with non-severe disabilities, awareness-raising among employers about the beneficial effects of employing persons with severe disabilities remains necessary, leading to the launch in 2013 of the “Inclusion Initiative for Education and Employment” together with the DGB, the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, representatives of persons with disabilities and other institutions. Addressing employers directly, this initiative and others aims to highlight best practices and advise employers on inclusion measures as well as on concrete subsidies available for job creation under the “Inclusion Initiative II – AllInBusiness”. This complements the “Inclusion Initiative”, which will be continued in the area of provision of professional orientation for pupils. The Committee notes that in 2015 the German pension insurance started to extend its information service as regards the so-called interpretation management of companies under Social Code IX. The Committee further notes that these initiatives are part of the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in which associations of persons with disabilities are involved and which is also open to other stakeholders, including the social partners. Further to the 2011 National Action Plan, the National Action Plan 2.0 was adopted in June 2016. It calls for 175 measures to be taken in 13 areas, including the development and implementation of legislation and sustainable employment policies and programmes. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the formulation and implementation of policies and measures to enable persons with disabilities, including those with severe disabilities, to access, advance and remain in employment, in both the public and private sectors, including vocational rehabilitation and training measures and statistics on the impact of such measures, disaggregated by sex. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on policies and measures adopted or envisaged to promote employment opportunities for persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities. Please also provide information concerning the manner in which the social partners and representatives of organizations of persons with disabilities are consulted in relation to the development and implementation of policies and programmes to promote vocational guidance, rehabilitation and training and the employment of persons with disabilities.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

The Committee notes the observations of the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB) received on 4 September 2015 concerning, inter alia, the deficits in achieving the mandatory quota of employees with severe disabilities in the private sector and that opposed to the general trend the unemployment rate of persons with severe disabilities has increased. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Articles 1–7 of the Convention. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. In reply to the previous comments concerning the measures taken in the context of the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, the Government indicates that a total of 7,548,965 persons with severe disabilities were registered in December 2013, out of which 3,697,397 were women. Out of the total number, 3,329,474 persons with disabilities were of working age (between 15 and 65 years of age). The Committee notes the overview provided by the Government of the measures implemented to facilitate the reintegration of persons with disabilities, including the “Job4000” programme. Building on the “Jobs Without Barriers” initiative, Jobs4000 ran from 2007 to 2013 and focused on the professional integration of persons with severe disabilities as well as young persons and high school graduates into the general vocational training and labour market by providing incentives to employers to employ or train more persons with disabilities than legally required. This programme resulted in the creation of 2,147 additional jobs and 4,438 training positions. Furthermore, since 2004 a legal requirement exists for employers to offer an active in-company integration management for persons on sick leave for more than six weeks for which the social partners have to render in-company support. The Committee notes the Government’s awareness that some measures are mainly effective in larger companies as small and medium sized-enterprises (SMEs) often lack the personnel and professional resources. Several pilot projects to assist SMEs in this regard have been launched. The Committee also notes that in 2011 the Government initiated the “Inclusion Initiative” for persons with severe disabilities aimed at providing professional orientation for pupils, promoting the creation of new vocational training positions in the general labour market and employment positions for persons above 50 years of age, as well as fostering the inclusion competence of chambers of commerce. The Government indicates that in the reporting period, out of the 40,000 envisaged professional orientation measures, 17,422 have been undertaken; 4,000 were employment positions were envisaged, of which 1,912 were created; and 825 persons of the 1,300 foreseen have commenced vocational training programmes. The Committee notes from the background information provided by the Federal Employment Agency in May 2015 that persons with severe disabilities have greater difficulties than persons with non-severe disabilities to find employment in the open labour market and fewer of them benefited from active labour market policy measures. Moreover, the length of their unemployment spells and their percentage of the long-term unemployed are significantly higher than that of persons with non-severe disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted to enable persons with disabilities and persons with severe disabilities to obtain and retain employment and to advance in their professions. Please also include information on how the views and concerns of the social partners and representatives of organizations of, and for, persons with disabilities are taken into account in the formulation and implementation of the policy and the measures designed to promote vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2016.]

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

The Committee notes the Government’s simplified report for the period ending in May 2010. Besides other references, the Government mentioned the legislation which incorporated into domestic law the requirements of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol ratified in February 2009. The Committee invites the Government to describe in more detail, in its next report, the measures adopted to enable persons with disabilities to obtain and retain employment and to advance in their professions. It also invites the Government to provide an overview of the measures taken in the context of the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities (Articles 3 and 7 of the Convention). Please also indicate how the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations of, and for, persons with disabilities are consulted on policy implementation (Article 5).

In addition, the Committee invites the Government to provide, in its next report, general information including, for example, statistics, extracts of reports and studies or surveys on the matters covered by the Convention (Part V of the report form).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

The Committee takes note with interest of the information provided by the Government in its first and second reports on the application of the Convention. It would be grateful if the Government would supply, in its next report, additional information on the following points:

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes the detailed description of the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons given in the Government's first report. Please describe the manner in which the national policy is periodically reviewed, as required under this Article.

Article 9. Please describe in more detail the measures taken to ensure the availability of suitably qualified vocational rehabilitation staff.

Part V of the report form. Please continue to supply information on practical application of the Convention, including for example statistics, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries, concerning the matters covered by the Convention (for example, with respect to particular areas or branches of activity or particular categories of disabled workers).