Social partners encourage the use of agreement-based jobs on special terms

A survey published in September 2005 by the employers’ confederation DA reveals that every seventh of the persons who achieved a so-called flexjob in the first half of 2005 has not fulfilled the normal preconditions. A flexjob is a job on special employment conditions combined with a wage subsidy from the state. The employers’ organisation in industry, DI, and the trade union, 3F, points out that a provision in the social chapters in most collective agreements makes it possible for the local partners to agree on jobs on special terms for persons with reduced working capacity without the interference of the authorities. This possibility is not very known and the organisations encourage the companies to get to know it - and use it - better

Even if it is a precondition for a person to be offered a flexjob that his or her working capacity is considerably and permanently reduced every seventh of the 'flexjobbers' had not received sickness benefits or similar publicly financed subsidies in the year prior to the achievement of a flexjob. This is the result of a survey published by the Confederation of Danish Employer’s (Dansk Arbejdsgiverfiorening, DA’s) magazine Agenda 22 September 2005.

A flexjob is a job on special terms, aimed at persons with permanent reduced working capacity. Flexjob can be set up in both the private and the public sector. People in flexjobs is offered employment on special working conditions - in contrast to employment on ordinary terms - in order to keep them in contact with the labour market if possible. The possibility for rehabilitation, activattion or other arrangements (e.g. replacement at the workplace) must be tried before granting a flexjob. A flexjob shall be offered as a full-time job. The person receives wage according to the collective agreement in force, but the salary is combined with a wage supplement (up to 2/3) from the state, distributed by the municipalities. The municipal authorities carry out a visitation of the person involved prior to the final decision of granting a flexjob. Most of the flexjobs are in the municipal sector. This means that the municipality also, as the employer, will receive the wage subsidy from the state. This subsidy is higher (average 65%) than the amount paid to the municipalities as subsidy for expenses to unemployed (50%).

Normally persons who qualify for a flexjob have been long-term sick and have consequently received other kind of social support from the state. The DA-survey reveals, however, that going directly from ordinary employment to a flexjob is not uncommon, although it should not be possible. The survey shows that 27.3% of those that got a flexjob in first half of 2005 was self-supporting prior to the visitation to a flexjob. Thus the pattern of flexjobbers shows two unlike groups. One group that has not been in particular contact with the public support system and do not qualify for a flexjob; and another, larger, group that in long periods the preceding years has been supported by the public because of severely reduced working capacity. There are 34,633 persons in flexjobs, according to DA.

The conclusion of DA is that the municipalities have not tried all possibilities regarding activation or rehabilitation - or measures to keep the person in ordinary employment - before offering a flexjob to this group; and that the delimitation and subsequent use of flexjobs will be watered down; on the basically unnecessary expense of the state.

But there are other options. In the week to follow the publication of DA’s survey the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri, DI) and the trade union, United Federation of Danish Workers (Fagligt Fælles Forbund, 3F) drew attention to the fact that the social chapters of most collective agreements contain a possibility for the companies and the employees to set up agreement-based jobs on special terms, which should be seen as part of the effort to create an inclusive labour market (det rummelige arbejdsmarked). Section 30 in the trend setting Industry Agreement between DI and the union cartel, Central Organisation of Industrial Employees in Denmark (CO-industri) stipulates that for employees with reduced working capacity the employee, and the employer at the single workplace have the possibility to agree on special working conditions, including reduced working time and/or reduced pay, in contrast to the current provisions of the agreement concerning ordinary working conditions. The negotiations leading to an agreement furthermore involves the presence of the local shop steward.

Both DI and 3F encourage the use of this possibility. There are several advantages seen from the organisations’ point of view: The authorities are not involved in the decision-making. The arrangement can be permanent or temporary for the single employee depending on the degree of reduced working capacity. The employee keeps the connection to his or her specific workplace. The possibility only concerns employees with ordinary employment prior to the run-down, the sickness or the accident that resulted in reduced working capacity, i.e. the companies cannot employ new workforce under these terms. Finally the agreement-based job on special terms is actually meant as a buffer in front of the flexjob. The company within the framework of the collective agreement can offer employees who are not so 'worn-out' reduced working conditions before they 'qualify' for a flexjob or early retirement.

This option is surprisingly not very used taken into account that it has been part of the Industry Agreement since 2000. In 2002 the Danish National Institute of Social Research (Socialforskningsinstitutet, SFI) concluded in a report on agreement-based jobs on special terms that this option was a 'generally overlooked possibility' by the companies and the trade unions. According to the report it is mainly 'the management that takes the initiative to set up jobs on special terms and draw up the guidelines for their employment. There is therefore a certain risk that there will be considerable differences in the employees’ rights concerning the different types of jobs on special terms. It is thus surprising that the social partners do not play a more active role in drawing up the concrete guidelines'.

DI and the CO-industri do not know the exact extension of agreement-based jobs on special terms but confirm that they are not widespread.

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