The employer's perspective: employment of people with disabilities in wage subsidized employments

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine employers' perspectives of the conditions of employment of people with disabilities within a context of wage subsidies. Employers in different workplaces were interviewed, and the interviews were analysed according to qualitative content analysis (Graneheim and Lundman 2004). The results show that four factors – attitude, matching, economic incentives and accommodations – are important for the employment of people with disabilities within a context of wage subsidies. Positive earlier experiences of people with disabilities serve as one of the reasons employers are willing to consider people with disabilities for jobs, but for hiring to take place, there must also be a match between the right person and the right job. Wage subsidies are seen, within this context, as an incentive to hire people who have reduced work capacity; accommodations are seen as necessary for the successful implementation of such hiring decisions. This knowledge can be applied in the design of support measures for unemployed people with disabilities.

Keywords:

• disability
• employer
• supported employment
• wage subsidies
• accommodations