Introduction

This chapter discusses the policy domain of employment facilities for disabled people, and more specifically sheltered work. Disabled people are often classified as a ‘vulnerable group’ in society due to their dependence on the state for their resources (ILO, 2009). In times of crisis this vulnerability becomes more pronounced. Due to the crisis the number of employed disabled workers reduces, public budgets for employment programmes for disabled people become tighter, and the demand for products and services of enterprises employing disabled people can become less (ILO, 2009). The impact of the crisis on disabled people leads to a demand for more government expenditure on this group. But the crisis also calls on the governments to decrease public expenditure. This results in a dilemma of ‘care versus austerity’; policy makers have to balance between these goals. In this chapter we analyse how this ‘balancing act’ has evolved in the case of sheltered work policies and what we might learn from this case for the responsiveness of social policies in general. This chapter shows that governments’ responses in the area of sheltered work depend on current government expenditure, the involvement of employers in the employment of disabled people and the role of inclusiveness in current disability policies.

The chapter is organised as follows. First, we discuss the trends and differences in general disability policies in Europe. Next, we focus more specifically on sheltered employment services for disabled people. We identify similarities and differences between European countries and discuss European trends. After that, we analyse in depth the evolution of sheltered work policies in the Netherlands (the Sheltered Work Act) and the way these policies have been responsive to the different logics that were introduced in Chapter Three. Finally, we reflect on the responsiveness of European sheltered employment policies based on the insights and lessons from the analysis of the Dutch case.

European trends and differences in disability policies

Disability policies differ between countries. Some countries for example oblige employers to employ a certain number of disabled people while others develop extensive sheltered work facilities and try to involve employers in other ways. In the academic literature various differences are discussed. We present a few of them to provide insight into the variety of disability policies in Europe. Building upon this, we explore the design of sheltered work policies as part of disability policies in the next section.