On 19 November 2004, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions organised a workshop in Brussels to present the findings of their report "Employment and disability - return to work strategies".
The study, which analyses data and policies of seven EU Member States and the EU, shows how OECD countries spend at least twice as much on disability-related programmes as on unemployment programmes.
14% of the working age population (EU15) report a long-standing health problem or disability.
Only 6% of illness absence is attributed to accidents at work, the rest is due to individuals health conditions deteriorating with age and many impairments being acquired during a person’s life.
In Finland approximately 10% of the labour force claimed disability pension in 1996.
In the UK, the cost of absence alone was more than 17.5 billion EUR in 2001, approximately 633 EUR per worker, and expenditure on incapacity benefits amounted to 9.5 billion EUR.
Musculoskeletal disorders alone cost employers more than 24.5 billion EUR in Germany, making it the single greatest contributor to lost productivity.
EPHA’s report of the workshop can be found below.
A draft (without amendments) version of the policy paper which was debated in the workshops is also attached to this article.
For detailed information about the proceedings of the workshop, please contact Lara Garrido-Herrero.
