Disability, Work and Inclusion in Slovenia
Towards Early Intervention for Sick Workers
One in seven working‑age adults identifies as having a disability in OECD countries.
Many of them are excluded from meaningful work and have low levels of income and social
engagement. Becoming sick or disabled often leads people to leave the labour market
even if they still can and want to work. Governments can help create an environment
that supports a return‑to‑work for such people. This report reviews the Slovenian
sickness and disability system and proposes recommendations to promote the employment
of people with disability. Frequent long-term sickness absences are a growing issue
in Slovenia, in part due to the design of the sickness insurance programme: workers
falling ill get relatively high payments, for an unlimited time, with no activation
or return-to-work offers. This report shows that intervening early is key to preventing
sickness claimants from exiting the labour force. For this to occur, employers and
occupational experts have to be involved sooner than at present, in a structured vocational
rehabilitation process. Sickness insurance reform should provide the right work incentives,
align sickness and disability assessment for long-term sickness claimants, and cap
the maximum sickness benefit payment period. Cooperation between all key stakeholders
in different phases of the process is critical. Such cooperation will allow the much-needed
creation of a joint body responsible for the assessment of sickness, disability and
vocational rehabilitation needs.
Available from March 01, 2022