A scheme meant to help people with disabilities get paid work is far behind schedule

The 'jobs agreement' that was meant to help thousands of people with disabilities find paid work does not seem to be working well. After conducting research, the Netherlands Labour Authority said that for a large part of the target group, it is probably impossible to work at a regular employer. Other solutions, such as daytime activities or sheltered workplaces with more guidance, may be more useful for them.

Employers promised to create over 125,000 regular jobs between 2013 and 2026 for people with disabilities who are still able to work. Extra guidance was meant to help these people find work at a regular employer. State Secretary Jurgen Nobel (Participation) announced on Tuesday that this has created almost 86,000 jobs thus far.

The Labour Authority sees that over a third of the people in this target group (35 percent) did not have a job from 2019 to 2021, having hardly worked in the years before.

A portion of the group has no chance of obtaining a regular job, the Labour Authority fears. They base this on the experiences of employees of the benefits agency UWV and municipalities that are trying to help people with a disability get to work. This mainly pertains to people who have several problems simultaneously, like limitations with debts, care tasks, or living problems.

Municipal and UWV employees also told the Labour Authority that sheltered work or daytime activities would better enable them to participate in society. However, according to the Labour Authority, there are still too many obstacles to switching plans.

This has also proven to have a negative impact on people who have disabilities and could get a job at a regular employer because there is not enough time to guide them in doing so.

The almost 86,000 jobs that have been created fall far short of the target of 105,000 jobs by 2023.

The labor union FNV said that it has been addressing the jobs agreement problem for years. Vice Chair Kitty Jong said that on paper, these people can work, but in practice, there is no realistic chance of work. "We need to step up our game and change things."

FNV thinks there should be more sheltered workplaces where people can work in a safe and adapted environment.