🛠️ Work and sheltered workshops for people with disabilities (WfbM)
In brief
Sheltered workshops for people with disabilities (Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen, WfbM) are facilities for participation in working life for people who, because of the nature or severity of their disability, cannot (yet) be employed on the general labour market. There is a basic entitlement to admission, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability, provided that participation in an activity matching the person's capacity can be expected.
On the other hand, employers with 20 or more jobs are subject to a statutory duty to employ: they must fill at least 5 % of their jobs with severely disabled people. If they do not meet this quota, they must pay a graduated compensation levy (Ausgleichsabgabe), from which, among other things, the Integrationsämter (integration offices) fund jobs.
Step by step
- Have the rehabilitation need determinedAs part of the entry procedure, the responsible rehabilitation provider determines whether employment in the workshop's work area is suitable.
- Go through the entry procedureIn a phase usually lasting several weeks, it is checked which work or vocational training area is suitable.
- Vocational training areaAs a rule, a qualification phase in the vocational training area follows before the actual work area begins.
- Work area and representation of interestsIn the work area you receive pay and the work promotion allowance; the employees elect a workshop council and a women's representative to represent their interests.
Deadlines
- The exact amount of pay (basic amount plus performance-related increase) differs between workshops and depends on the workshop's economic result – no nationwide euro amount can be reliably stated.
- The work promotion allowance is a fixed amount: 52 euros a month as long as pay plus work promotion allowance together do not exceed 351 euros; with pay above 299 euros it falls to the difference to 351 euros. It does not count as income for other income-dependent social benefits.
- The compensation levy is not a penalty but a compensatory payment for unfilled mandatory places – it does not rule out further obligations (e.g. under dismissal protection law).
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Purpose and entitlement to admission, § 219 SGB IX
Workshops offer appropriate vocational training and employment at appropriate pay for people who, because of the nature or severity of their disability, cannot, not yet or not yet again be employed on the general labour market. Access is open regardless of the nature or severity of the disability, as long as a minimum of economically usable work performance can be expected.
Pay and work promotion allowance
Pay in the work area consists of a basic amount and a performance-related increase (§ 221 SGB IX). In addition, the responsible rehabilitation provider pays a work promotion allowance of 52 euros a month, provided pay and work promotion allowance together do not exceed 351 euros; with pay above 299 euros it is reduced to the difference to 351 euros (§ 59 SGB IX). The work promotion allowance is disregarded for other income-dependent social benefits.
Duty to employ and compensation levy, §§ 154, 160 SGB IX
Employers with at least 20 jobs must fill at least 5 % of their jobs with severely disabled people on an annual average (§ 154 SGB IX). For every unfilled mandatory place a graduated compensation levy must be paid: 140 euros where the quota reached is 3 % up to below the mandatory rate, 245 euros at 2 % to below 3 %, 360 euros at above 0 % to below 2 % and 720 euros if no severely disabled person is employed at all (§ 160 Abs. 2 SGB IX). From the proceeds the Integrationsämter fund, among other things, disability-appropriate workplace equipment and Integrationsfachdienste.
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