Council calls for greater support to help persons with disabilities access the labour market
Better access to high-quality, sustainable jobs can help persons with disabilities achieve financial independence and greater social inclusion.
In conclusions approved today on fostering the social inclusion of persons with disabilities through employment, reasonable accommodation and rehabilitation, the Council calls on EU countries to help persons with disabilities (re)join the labour market.
The EU has made considerable progress in the last few years when it comes to promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities, as attested by the recently adopted directives on the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities. Today’s conclusions build on that momentum, focusing on the right of persons with disabilities to access employment as a route to economic autonomy and social inclusion.
Ádám Kósa, Hungarian Minister of State for Disability
The EU Disability Strategy recognises the importance of quality jobs in ensuring that persons with disabilities are independent and can maintain a decent quality of life. Moreover, employers also benefit from employing persons with disabilities, as diverse workplaces can have a positive impact on employee performance and productivity.
Nevertheless, in 2021 only around half of persons aged 20-64 with a disability were in employment, compared to nearly three quarters of those without a disability, with women with disabilities being particularly affected. Moreover, both women and men with disabilities earn less money on average than those without disabilities.
The Council invites member states to foster the social inclusion of persons with disabilities by:
- Adopting measures, including setting national employment targets, to improve employment rates for persons with disabilities
- promoting a non-discriminatory approach in policies that takes into account individual needs
- strengthening and promoting access to social and support services
- promoting employment in the open labour market, including through fostering equal treatment and supporting flexible working arrangements
- strengthening, where necessary, the national frameworks on reasonable accommodation
- developing and improving rehabilitation services
- improving data collection and exchange of best practices
The Council also calls on the Commission to prepare a report on the progress of implementation of the EU Disability Strategy, as well as to monitor the employment status of persons with disabilities.
Background
EU action on disability is based on the Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities 2021-2030 (‘EU Disability Strategy’), which recognises that fostering access to quality, sustainable jobs is key to the social inclusion of persons with disabilities. The strategy calls on Member States to set, by 2024, a target for increasing the employment rate of persons with disabilities and reduce the gap between the employment rates of persons with and without disabilities. It supports the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which the EU and its member states are parties.
The directive establishing the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, as well as the directive extending it to non-EU citizens legally residing in a member state, were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 14 November 2024.