Even the state does not respect the obligation of quota employment for persons with disabilities

Only five out of 20 ministries – the ministries of health, social policy, administration, veterans, and internal affairs, fully complied with the obligation of quota employment for persons with disabilities, warns the Ombudsperson for Persons with Disabilities in the 2015 annual report sent to the Croatian Parliament.

The Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, which has been in effect since the beginning of 2015, obliges employers with more than 20 employees to hire persons with disabilities or, if they cannot or do not want to, to comply with some other quota obligation.

Five ministries ignored it

According to media reports, a substitute quota can mean organizing mentorship, internships, contractual relationships with persons with disabilities, etc. Employers who decide not to hire or implement any of the substitute quotas must pay a fee to the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. The fund’s resources are strictly earmarked and are used to improve the status of persons with disabilities.

Data on quota employment was not provided at all to Ombudsperson Anka Slonjšak by five ministries (culture, maritime affairs, defense, justice, and finance), and of the remaining 15, the majority must pay a monetary compensation because they did not employ the required number of persons with disabilities. Slonjšak is dissatisfied with this data as she believes that ministries should set an example for other entities in the public and private sectors in employing persons with disabilities.

Of the 8,530 employers who had an obligation for quota employment at the end of last year, about 2,500 were in the public sector, and nearly 6,000 in the private sector, media reports. Citing data from the Institute for Expertise, Professional Rehabilitation, and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, Slonjšak warns that as many as 1,576 employers in the public sector do not comply with the legal obligation, with the compliance rate varying from a high 81 percent in public administration to a concerning 25 percent in education.

A third of private employers fulfilled the obligation

“It is difficult to understand, let alone justify such a situation,” says the Ombudsperson, questioning how to expect a better attitude from private employers if such an attitude exists in the public sector.

About a third of private employers fulfilled the quota employment obligation last year. Last year, 463 employers received incentives for about 1,400 persons with disabilities, for which they were paid nearly 40 million kuna, mostly for subsidizing wages.

Employment and work have become issues of paramount importance for persons with disabilities, emphasizes the Ombudsperson, supporting this with the data that employment complaints ranked second last year, right after social welfare.

Despite inconsistent implementation, the quota employment obligation has led to increased employment of persons with disabilities. Last year, 2,613 were employed, which is almost 40 percent more than in 2014. By the end of the year, 11,822 persons with disabilities were employed, about 16 percent more than the previous year.

Despite these positive indicators, around 7,300 unemployed persons with disabilities were registered last year, the highest in the past ten years.

Only one ministry is accessible

Worrying data about the accessibility of ministries for persons with disabilities shows that only one ministry is accessible, 12 are partially accessible, and two are inaccessible. “According to the received responses, it is evident that many do not comply with regulations and do not face any sanctions,” states Slonjšak, who is particularly concerned about the lack of genuine intent to change this situation.

Data on court accessibility is also discouraging. Of the 36 buildings where courts operate, only 15 have accessible entrances for persons with disabilities, and only nine buildings have access to the upper floors. Sanitary facilities are adapted in only five buildings, while one is undergoing adaptation. Among the courts that responded, only the Municipal Criminal Court in Zagreb has tactile guiding lines.

The Ombudsperson has detailed other procedures and omissions detrimental to persons with disabilities.

While touring Croatia, she again found that there has been no progress in ensuring necessary rehabilitation programs for children with developmental difficulties, especially outside larger cities. In two-thirds of the surveyed counties, the development of services aimed at children with difficulties has not been recognized as a priority.

Almost one-fifth live in poverty

Almost one-fifth of persons with disabilities, about 18 percent, live in poverty, which is higher than the general population, warns the Ombudsperson.

Additionally, concerning figures indicate austerity measures through a reduction in the number of users of already meager social benefits. Thus, the number of users of the supplement for assistance and care amounting to 500 kuna has been continuously decreasing since 2012, with the largest reduction occurring compared to 2014 when the number of users dropped from 72,408 to 66,794.

It often happens that entire families live off disability benefits and that this is their only income, so the benefit that should serve to integrate them into life has become a benefit for basic living needs, emphasizes Slonjšak in her 2015 report.