Only 16% of persons with disabilities are officially employed in Ukraine, Social Policy Minister Oksana Zholnovych has said.
“The existing system of employment of persons with disabilities, based on the quota principle and the system of penalties, is ineffective. As a result, only 16% of persons with disabilities are officially employed in Ukraine, while in Europe this figure reaches more than 55%”, – the press service of the ministry said with reference to Zholnovych.
According to her, the draft law No. 5344 developed by the Ministry of Social Policy, which is already being considered in the Verkhovna Rada, is intended to create new opportunities for employment of persons with disabilities.
“First of all, the bill No. 5344 is intended to increase inclusion in society, to make the conditions equal for everyone. Because today the situation is that – mainly in private business – there is a quota for the employment of people with disabilities. And if it is not met, the private sector pays a so-called “administrative economic sanction” once a year. And there are already many cases of bypassing and non-payment, employers are afraid to hire people with disabilities because they do not know how to do it, there is no systematic support and assistance to adapt such a person in the team,” said the minister.
According to her, abolishing such practices, the bill proposes three options for employers: pay an unconditional earmarked contribution to support the employment of people with disabilities; hire people with disabilities themselves and get support; buy the product from social enterprises that have already employed 50 percent or more of people with disabilities.
“Thus, the emphasis is on ensuring decent working conditions for people with disabilities, accumulating a resource and expanding support for social enterprises,” the report says.
Another problem that the bill solves, Zholnovich said, is the impossibility of state support for entrepreneurs who hire people with disabilities but whose founders are not public organizations.
“Today under the law, support from the state is only possible if the founder is a public organization. So we remove this restriction and say: any employer who hires 50 or more people with disabilities can count on support and benefits. Socially oriented business will create new, socially protected jobs,” the Minister stressed.
