Norwegian Labour and Welfare Policy. Enhancing the Labour Market Prospects for the Occupationally Disabled and for Employees With Health Problems Erik Oftedal Director Directorate of Labour and Welfare Norway - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Norwegian Labour and Welfare Policy. Enhancing the Labour Market Prospects for the Occupationally Disabled and for Employees With Health Problems Erik Oftedal Director Directorate of Labour and Welfare Norway

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Title: Norwegian Labour and Welfare Policy. Enhancing the Labour Market Prospects for the Occupationally Disabled and for Employees With Health Problems Erik Oftedal Director Directorate of Labour and Welfare Norway


1
Norwegian Labour and Welfare Policy. Enhancing
the Labour Market Prospects for the
Occupationally Disabled and for Employees With
Health ProblemsErik OftedalDirectorDirectorate
of Labour and WelfareNorway
2
Agenda
  • Challenges in Norwegian Labour and Welfare policy
  • The Norwegian way of enhancing labour market
    prospects for vulnarable groups
  • What if we succeed

3
Brief information about Norway
  • Population 4 640 200
  • 79 active in work
  • Women 76
  • Men 83
  • The majority is employed in
  • Public sector
  • Private service sector
  • Unemployment rate 2.8 .

4
Fewer to share the costs
1967 3,9
2003 2,6
2050 1,6
A steady decrease in the number of people in the
work force per pensioner
5
Macroeconomic and labour market situation is very
good
  • High material income and wealth
  • Steady growth (3- 3 ½ )
  • High and stable labour force participation (80)
  • Low unemployment (2-3 )
  • Low inflation (1-2 )
  • Low real interest rates (2-3 )
  • Very strong public finances

6
The other sides of the medal
  • It affords a strong back to bear good days
  • How to keep up with intergenerationally well
    balanced economy and welfare?
  • An ageing population
  • Expected increase of expenditure towards health
    and care services as well as pensions.
  • Very high and increasing absence due to sickess
    and incidence and prevalence of disability
  • 700.000 persons ¼ of the grown-up population
    below pension age receive an income support on
    the grounds of sickness, health problems or
    disability

7
Challenges in Norwegian welfare Norway today
  • In the work force At the outskirts of the work
    force, receiving benefits
  • 2 400 000
  • 298 000 disability pension
  • 28 000 temporary disability pension
  • 60 000 social welfare
  • 120 000 sickness benefit
  • 66 000 occupational rehabilitation
  • 58 000 unemployment benefit
  • 44 000 rehabilitation benefit
  • 12 000 transitional benefit
  • 7 400 individual benefit
  • 2 800 severance benefit
  • 2 400 severance pay

8
Net transfers according to age in 2004
9
Increasing number of income security
beneficiaries
Social welfare Daily cash benefit Sickness
benefit Rehabilitation allowance Vocational
rehabilitation allowance Disability benefits
10
In an OECD context Norway differs too

of employees absent on account of sickness
Source EULFS.
11
Few disability beneficiaries return to the labour
market
of the disability beneficiaries that return to
the labour market
Note Data refer to 2004 for Norway, Poland and
Switzerland and 1999 for the other countries
Source National Labour Force Surveys.
12
The number of disability beneficiaries the
double of OECD-average
of work-age population
and we spend the double of OECD-average on
sickness benefit and disability
Source National insurance authorities NIA
(Norway), IV (Switzerland) and ZUS (Poland).
13
The Norwegian path to increased welfare and a
more inclusive labour market
  • The trend has to be changed
  • The strategy
  • Inclusive Workplaces a tripartite agreement
  • The NAV reform a new state agency for Work and
    Welfare
  • The White Paper on Work, Welfare and Inclusion
  • A reform of the pension system presented by Mr.
    Christensen yesterday

14
Inclusive Workplaces a tripartite agreement
  • Agreement 2001-2005 between the Government and
    the Social partners prolonged 2006-2009.
  • The goals
  • Reduce sickness abscence by 20 compared to 2001
  • Increase the employment rate of disabled persons
  • Increase the average, real retirement age

15
Inclusive Workplaces cont.
  • A lot of good initiatives and work locally
  • Local work is based on cooperation agreements
    signed directly between the enterprises and NAV
  • New proposals 2007 ..

16
A new model for intensified follow-up on sick
leave
  • Employer and employee are required to (according
    to the Working Environment Act)
  • agree upon a mutually binding follow-up plan at
    the latest 6 weeks after the onset of sick-leave
  • arrange a dialogue-meeting within 12 weeks of
    the onset of sick-leave
  • The doctor is required by law to participate in
    the meeting
  • if desired by the employee
  • NAVs role is to (according to the National
    Insurance Act)
  • check the possibilities of and attempts at work
    related activity, by controlling the sickness
    certificate and the follow-up plan
  • arrange a new dialogue meeting with the employer
    and employee within 6 months, possibly with the
    doctor participating too
  • effectuate economic reimbursements and benefits
  • coordinate access to relevant public services
  • Company health service, union representatives,
    safety deputies should participate too

17
A wave of reorganising the Work and Welfare
administrations
  • A dominating trend in many European countries
  • Most outspoken in Northern Europe
  • Great Britain, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark,
    Finland
  • The Norwegian reform more far reaching

18
A New Employment and Welfare Administration
  • Merger
  • The Public Employment Service
  • The National Insurance Service and
  • The Municipal Social Welfare Administration
  • The aims
  • Better coordination of benefits
  • More effective and work-oriented casework
  • More user-oriented services and participation
  • Gradual implementation
  • Central agencies in 2006
  • Regional and local offices 2006-2009

19
NAV unifies the services
National Insurance Service (state)
Social welfare (municipality)
Aetat Employment Service(state)
  • Social welfare office in
  • almost every municipality
  • Around 4 000 employees
  • National Insurance Administration
  • County office
  • National insurance office
  • Special units
  • Around 9 000 employees
  • Aetat Directorate of Labour
  • Aetat county
  • Aetat local
  • Special units
  • Around 3 500 employees

20
The goals of the NAV-reform
  • More people employed and active
  • One door for all the users of NAV common
    access to combined and parallel services
  • Distinct work focus for frontline services
  • Steady course from passivity to activity
  • Time for more and better follow up and a higher
    degree of individual adjustments
  • Distinct division between production and work
    related processes
  • Increased use of self service
  • Simple requests handled in a simple manner
  • Active user participation

21
New interaction between state and local authority
  • The NAV office is based on an equal partnership
    between state and local authorities. The office
    will offer one door to all of NAVs services.
  • A general agreement between The Ministry of
    Labour and Social Inclusion and The Norwegian
    Association of Local and Regional Authorities
    constitutes the framework for local cooperation
    for all local authorities. 
  • Employees within both central and local
    authorities will receive training and education,
    and will work with the same tasks.
  • The local NAV office will offer services on
    behalf of both central and local authorities, but
    in a way that makes them seem like one and the
    same.

22
Organizational reform Not
only a new wrapping
  • Motto
  • Everyone is unique and has unique service and
    support needs
  • Focus on functioning, abilities and possibilities
    not diagnosis
  • Symmetry between support/services and individual
    obligations
  • Services tailored to INDIVIDUAL needs not the
    target group, type of income support etc.

23
Decision making close to the public
  • All follow up should take place in the local NAV
    office main focus on close collaboration with
    the individual as far as work and activity are
    concerned
  • The NAV office decides which tools and measures
    to apply
  • The NAV office uses their own judgement as far as
    possible within the framework of rules and
    regulations. The offices opinion should be a
    leading factor when deciding upon the case by
    special units
  • activity-requirement, conditions that have to be
    met, etc.
  • The NAV offices use individual plans as a tool
    based on a.o. the ability to work and the
    agreement on activity
  • The plan plays a guiding role when assessed by a
    special unit
  • The NAV office coordinates services to the public
  • The NAV offices must be credible and reliable as
    far as follow up and guidance are concerned

24
White Paper on Work, Welfare and Inclusion
  • Preventive and facilitative measures at the
    workplace
  • New and better coordinated work-oriented measures
  • Reformed temporary income security within the NIS
  • A new qualification programme outside the NIS
  • Supplementary measures
  • for disabled persons
  • for immigrants
  • to combat poverty

25
Tools todays practice
Sickness benefit
Medical measures
Rehabilitation allowance
Primarily medical measures
All labour market measures
Vocational rehabilitation allowance
Temporary disability benefit
No demand for active measures
Unemployment benefit
Status depending on labour market measures
Social welfare
Random offers of measures
26
Tools future practice
Follow up according to needs Assessment Follow
up Non-temporary wage subsidies Long term adapted
working environment Assisted work Labour market
training Ordinary education Motivation
measures Wage subsidies Medical
rehabilitation Low threshold alternative Economic
counselling Close individual follow
up Qualification programme
Evaluation of work ability
Tools should be applied freely, without regard to
type of benefit/focus groups
27
Work ability assessment
  • A new, integrated system for work ability
    assessment is under way
  • Today A number of concepts, methods and tools
    are in use within NAV
  • It will be the point of departure for formulating
    individual action plans
  • A move from the focus on diagnosis/disability to
    a focus on work-related abilities and
    possibilities

28
Assesment of work ability-
29
Developing and renewing work-related measures and
services
  • More flexible and individually-adapted use of all
    types of measures and services provided by the
    new employment and welfare administration
  • Extended use of wage subsidies through
    implementing trial projects involving wage
    subsidies that are not of a limited duration
  • Strengthening measures to improve fundamental
    knowledge and skills on the part of job-seekers
    who need this

30
Developing and renewing work-related measures and
services cont.
  • Establishing and wider access to new and better
    clarification measures for users who do not
    currently have access to this
  • Based upon the situation and needs of the
    individual
  • Will benefit
  • the long-term unemployed
  • young people and
  • groups of immigrants
  • Establishing and wider access to new and better
    follow-up measures for users who do not
    currently have access to this
  • Based upon the situation and needs of the
    individual
  • Will benefit
  • the long-term unemployed
  • young people and
  • groups of immigrants

31
Qualification programme
  • A new qualification programme proposed
    established within NAV Local Services at the end
    of 2007
  • Target group
  • persons with no or very limited benefits from the
    National Insurance Scheme
  • mainly persons living off municipal social
    welfare
  • Participation in the qualification programme will
    entitle to qualification benefits granted as
    standard amounts

32
Qualification programme cont
  • The objective of the programme is to help
    participants to get work by making the effort
    more general, systematic and binding in regard to
    both the participants and the public services
  • The programme can consist of several kinds of
    measures based on individual needs, e.g
  • Labour market measures
  • Different kinds of training
  • Motivation
  • The municipial part of the local office will be
    responsible for implementing these programmes
    but the programme can consist of all measures and
    services in accordance with individual needs

33
Temporary Income Security Benefits at present
and in the future
Today
Future
34
Why a Reformed Temporary Income Security Benefit?
  • A single benefit to support through the whole
    period, enabling the recipient to focus on
    job-related activities
  • Merging/replacing the 3 existing medical and
    vocational rehabilitation and invalidity benefits
    (of limited duration) will permit a more flexible
    use of means/measures across groups of
    recipients
  • Harmonizing and simplifying the present rules,
    facilitates a more effective welfare system
  • Introducing the possibility to allocate resources
    from the administration of benefit payments
    towards follow-up activities and active measures

35
2010
  • 470 NAV offices established in all
    municipalities, several in larger cities
  • 12 administration units enhanced
  • 20 new administration units established
  • 5 new pension units established

36
2010
  • Specialisation and automation within the fields
    of information, administrative support and
    payment
  • Transfer of 1550 employees from local offices to
    special units
  • Health services transferred from The Labour and
    Welfare Service to The Health and Social Service
  • New tools and a new policy on labour, welfare and
    inclusion
  • Modernised national insurance scheme
  • Applied measures towards improving the competence
    of the employees

37
What if we succeed?
  • Possible positive results for individuals,
    society, public economy and finances and for the
    public service and administration
  • Some examples
  • 1 person for 5 years longer in paid employment
    approx 500.000 NOK higher life income
  • 3.000 persons for 5 years longer in paid
    employment 3 billion NOK society output
  • 30.000 fewer disability pensioners
  • (10 ) 20 billion NOK reduction of the budget
    costs 3 of total state budget
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