Berufliche Integration von Menschen mit Behinderung in die Bundesverwaltung

• Forschungsstelle: EFK
• Projektnummer: 10378

Schlüsselwörter (Deutsch)

Im Rahmen eines internationalen Audits zur beruflichen Integration von Menschen mit Behinderung untersucht die Eidgenössische Finanzkontrolle (EFK) die Konzeption, den Vollzug und die Wirkung der Massnahmen in der Bundesverwaltung. Eine Fallstudie bei den Schweizerischen Bundesbahnen (SBB) soll als Vergleich dienen.

Kurzbeschreibung (Deutsch)

Arbeit vor Rente – die Rolle der Bundesverwaltung als Arbeitgeberin

Die Eidgenössische Finanzkontrolle untersuchte die Frage, wie die Bundesverwaltung als Arbeitgeberin den Vorgaben des Behindertengleichstellungsgesetzes gerecht wird. Sie kam zum Schluss, dass die Falllösungen zur Reintegration von Mitarbeitenden mit Behinderung erfolgreich sind, dass jedoch die Verwaltungseinheiten ihre Vorbildfunktion bei den Anstellungen und der Früherkennung nicht zufriedenstellend wahrnehmen.

„Arbeit vor Rente“ ist ein wesentlicher Grundsatz und muss angesichts der hohen Defizite der Invalidenversicherung für die Politik höchste Priorität haben. Das Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz verpflichtet den Bund alles daran zu setzen, Behinderten gleiche Chancen wie nicht Behinderten anzubieten. Die Eidgenössische Finanzkontrolle (EFK) hat deshalb die Frage gestellt, wie die Bundesverwaltung als eine der grössten Arbeitgeberinnen der Schweiz diese Vorgabe beachtet. Die Analyse wurde zudem in eine internationale Studie eingebettet: Zwölf nationale Rechnungskontrollbehörden führten Untersuchungen durch.

Das Eidgenössische Personalamt bietet den Bundesstellen zwei Instrumente an: das betriebliche Case Management mit Früherkennung und –intervention sowie finanzielle Anreize. Die EFK musste feststellen, dass diese beiden Instrumente noch nicht in ein Programm eingebunden sind und der übergeordnete Rahmen zu wenig sichtbar ist. Auch könnte die Bundesverwaltung ihre Vorbildfunktion stärker wahrnehmen. Zwar kann gegenüber 2004 eine Verbesserung bei der Sensibilität des Themas festgestellt werden, der Anteil von Mitarbeitenden mit Behinderung erachtet die EFK mit knapp einem Prozent aber als eher tief. Gute Resultate ergab die Reintegration: In der Mehrheit der Fälle konnten die Mitarbeitenden in der Bundesverwaltung ohne Rente an die Arbeitsstelle zurückkehren. Die EFK ortete insbesondere Optimierungspotenzial in der Koordination mit der Invalidenversicherung, der Früherkennung und bei der Information der Mitarbeitenden. Sie hat verschiedene Empfehlungen formuliert, so etwa für die Kommunikation, die Festlegung eines Zielwertes für Neuanstellungen, die Bestimmung von Integrationsbeauftragten in den Verwaltungseinheiten sowie die Überarbeitung des Leitfadens für das betriebliche Case Management. Die EFK ermunterte das Eidgenössische Personalamt, departementale Sonderlösungen zu unterbinden und ein bundesweit gültiges Konzept umzusetzen.

Das Eidgenössische Personalamt ist mit den Empfehlungen einverstanden, jedoch der Meinung, dass die Untersuchung zu früh angesetzt wurde, um aussagekräftige Ergebnisse liefern zu können. Einige der Empfehlungen seien bereits in der Beschlussphase und würden in die vom Bundesrat beschlossene Personalstrategie eingebunden.

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

Professional integration of persons with disabilities
Evaluation of the measures applied within the Federal Administration – Key facts

In 2010, an international audit on the professional integration of persons with disabilities, under the aegis of the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) was conducted. One of the main objectives was to study how the public sector implements the various measures at its disposal and removes barriers to allow a greater number of disabled people to work. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) decided to participate in this audit, although, due to some measures recently implemented at the Federal Administration, timing was suboptimal.

The Federal Administration, with some 36,000 people on its payroll, is one of Switzerland’s biggest employers. Under the Disability Discrimination Act (SR 151.3, in effect since 2004), the Confederation is required to offer equal employment opportunities to the disabled. With the fifth revision of the Invalidity Insurance Act (SR 831.20) in 2004, the emphasis was placed on rehabilitation rather than disability benefits, also in terms of insurance, and specific measures for professional reintegration were added to the list of services covered.

As well as describing the status of professional integration in Switzerland, this evaluation also looks at the programme, implementation, outputs and effects of the various measures within the Federal Administration. A comparison is made with the situation of professional integration at the Swiss Federal Railways, which is also subject to the Disability Discrimination Act. The data was obtained by a document analysis and by means of a written questionnaire sent to the HR Managers of the administrative units of the Federal Administration as well as interviews and written surveys of those directly concerned. The results of the evaluation refer to the situation as it stood at the end of 2010.

First measures have been initiated but not yet incorporated into an overall plan for the professional integration of persons with disabilities

The Federal Office of Personnel (FOPER) offers the administrative units two instruments for concrete implementation of the legislation. The first of these is operational case management, which comprises early detection and early intervention as well as the case management of the Federal Administration’s personnel and social counselling service. The other measure available is a system of financial incentives, which allocates funds earmarked for special personnel categories (CHF 12 million a year) to encourage employers to occupy and hire individuals with disabilities. This deserves a positive mention. However, these two measures are not yet incorporated into a programme that defines the objectives, indicators and resources for professional integration and clarifies the responsibilities and processes. Furthermore, the overall framework is vague, with no individual office or body combining the tasks and instruments of professional integration. Due to its centralised structures, the Swiss Federal Railways, unlike the Federal Administration, has a group-wide strategy with mandatory criteria and requirements – albeit without measures towards recruiting new persons. The fact that professional integration in the Federal Administration is a decentralised task assigned to the administrative units makes it all the more important to have a uniform set of guidelines.

So far, the Federal Administration does not set an adequate example with regard to the employment of individuals with disabilities

As regards awareness of the “professional integration of disabled people”, more than half of the HR managers surveyed saw any improvement. The conditions said to have changed the least were those regarding equal opportunities (employment, advanced training and promotion opportunities). These findings are corroborated by the actual figures on the number of disabled employees: The share of disabled employees amounting to barely 1% (around 300 employees) is considered rather low by the SFAO. Under the Disability Discrimination Act, the Federal Administration is supposed to do all in its power to offer equal opportunities for the disabled. The Federal Administration should serve as a role model in this respect, particularly in its recruitment policy. There is thus room for improvement here.

The Disability Discrimination Ordinance provides for the appointment of professional integration officers by the employer. Within the Federal Administration, the employers are the individual administrative units. If the situation is to improve, therefore, integration officers need be assigned within the individual administrative units. A number of isolated initiatives exist already. In most cases, however, the mission and the qualifications of such integration officers have not (yet) been defined, making it difficult to take appropriate steps. The evaluation of the benefit system will show to what degree this recently implemented measure can contribute to this.

Individual case solutions are commendable…

Compared with the Swiss Federal Railways, the results of reintegration efforts made to date are good, with Federal Administration staff returning to work without a pension in most cases. Only 3.7% of cases required termination of employment without any additional pension claims. As a general trend, the number of Federal Administration employees receiving disability benefits has fallen since 2005.

In addition, the outcome is regarded as positive overall. The majority of persons with varying degrees of impaired health are reintegrated into the workplace, to their complete satisfaction, recognised as having equal rights and fulfilling the requirements of the job. It should be mentioned, however, that there is a risk of jobs being adapted to more or less meet an individual’s requirements; this is actually more of a social solution than a professional integration measure. Apart from the benefits paid through Invalidity Insurance, such case solutions can generate unspecified expenses for the Federal Administration as an employer. Case management and the financial incentive system, if put to use correctly, can help the administrative units adapt the relevant positions appropriately and offset any losses in performance.

… but the measures are not being applied uniformly

Implementation of the measures within the framework of the operational case management has revealed that certain aspects remain unclear and that coordination with Invalidity Insurance is not as smooth as it could be. There is a general sense of uncertainty regarding the use of appropriate measures. Early detection, in particular, is not applied consistently. For the individual concerned, the process of early detection and early intervention determines whether and when they receive the right type of support and from whom. In those cases in which a solution was sought at an early stage, the process was frequently initiated by the individual themselves. More typically, in many cases, it is only after the second or even third extended period of absence that managers react, at someone else’s initiative, and start to take measures. There is further potential for improvement in informing staff of the Federal Administration of the persons to contact and the various support possibilities available.

The recommendations drawn from this audit are as follows:

The SFAO recommends that FOPER formulate a plan for the professional integration of persons with disabilities and communicate this appropriately to the various target groups. This plan should outline the concept of professional integration within the Federal Administration and define the objectives, resources, competencies and responsibilities. All Federal Administration employees should be informed of this so that they know whom to contact whenever necessary.

The SFAO recommends that FOPER set a hiring target with regard to equal opportunities for the disabled and demonstrate the financial incentives for the administrative units. A target figure for the hiring of persons with a disability (whether in permanent or temporary posts) may prove useful in encouraging improvement. FOPER can assist the administrative units in implementing recruitment measures and point out the associated financial costs and compensation.

The SFAO recommends that FOPER call upon the Federal Council, within the context of the rules on the employment and integration of persons with disabilities in the Federal Personnel Ordinance, to require that integration officers be appointed on the level of administrative units. Integration officers are needed on the level of administrative units if these are to be able to create non-discriminatory framework conditions as an employer. Apart from their advisory role, such integration officers should also be responsible for highlighting the issue in the administrative unit so that adjustments can be made as early as the planning stage.

The SFAO recommends that FOPER revise the “Guide to operational case management” and train managerial staff and HR managers in its application. The Guide should be revised so as to clarify the tasks and processes involved in Invalidity Insurance (with regard to the insurer) and FOPER (with regard to the employer). This should also include efforts to improve the early detection mechanism. In demonstrating what the various measures can achieve, the Guide can counteract the risk of social solutions being created as opposed to actual professional integration.

Meanwhile, FOPER has prepared several Federal Counsel Decrees towards a human resources strategy. In the area of “equal opportunities for disabled persons”, a setpoint value including new hires has been established. FOPER agrees with the recommendations but points out that the appointment of an integration delegate on the level of the administrative units lies in the responsibility of the Federal Ministries. In January 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs (FDHA) published a concept for the professional integration of disabled persons within the FDHA providing for annual target figure for new hires as well as the appointment and training of integration delegates on the level of the administrative units.

Original text in German

Kurzbeschreibung (Französisch)

Intégration des personnes handicapées au sein de l’administration fédérale

Le Contrôle fédéral des finances a examiné la question de savoir comment l'administration fédérale répond aux exigences de la loi sur l’égalité pour les handicapés qui lui demande de jouer un rôle de modèle. Il conclut que la gestion des cas individuels en vue de réinsérer des collaborateurs devenus handicapés est un succès, mais que les unités administratives ne montrent pas suffisamment l’exemple dans le recrutement de personnes handicapées et en matière de détection précoce.

« L’intégration professionnelle plutôt que la rente » est un principe essentiel et doit être une priorité politique importante étant donné l’important déficit de l'assurance-invalidité. La loi sur l’égalité pour les handicapés oblige la Confédération d’utiliser tous les moyens dont elle dispose pour assurer des chances égales aux personnes handicapées. Le Contrôle fédéral des finances (CDF) a donc examiné comment l’administration fédérale, un des plus grands employeurs de Suisse, applique ces exigences. L'analyse du CDF a également été intégrée dans le cadre d’une étude internationale, à laquelle ont participé douze cours des comptes nationales.

L'Office fédéral du personnel propose deux instruments aux unités administratives: d’une part, la gestion des cas individuels en vue de soutenir des personnes présentant des problèmes de santé par une détection et une intervention précoces et, d’autre part, des incitations financières. Le CDF constate que ces deux instruments ne sont pas encore intégrés dans un concept global et que le rôle des différents acteurs n’apparaît pas clairement. En outre, l’administration fédérale pourrait exercer son rôle d’employeur modèle de manière plus marquée. Si, depuis 2004, il y a une plus grande sensibilisation sur la question, la proportion de collaborateurs avec un handicap se situe à peine à 1%  au sein de l’administration fédérale, proportion que le CDF estime comme plutôt faible. Les résultats montrent par contre que le taux de réinsertion est bon. Dans la plupart des cas, les collaborateurs ont pu reprendre leur poste sans avoir à percevoir une rente. Le CDF met en évidence des potentiels d'amélioration dans la  coordination avec l'assurance-invalidité, dans la détection précoce et dans l’information aux collaborateurs. Il a formulé plusieurs recommandations, notamment pour la communication, la fixation d’une valeur cible pour les recrutements, la nomination de délégués à l'intégration dans les unités administratives et la révision du guide pour la gestion des cas individuels. Le CDF encourage l'Office fédéral du personnel à éviter des solutions départementales spécifiques et à mettre en œuvre un concept valable pour l’ensemble de l’administration fédérale.

L'Office fédéral du personnel est d'accord avec les recommandations, mais estime que, à cause de l’introduction récente de nouvelles mesures par l’administration fédérale, l’enquête du CDF était prématurée. En outre, certaines recommandations étaient déjà en phase de décision et viennent d’être intégrées dans la stratégie du personnel décidé par le Conseil fédéral.

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