Since 1 January 2009, Supported Employment became law in Germany: „The aim of supported employment is to give and maintain appropriate, suitable employment liable to social security payment to disabled persons with need of special support. Supported Employment encompasses an individual qualification within the company and, if needed, accompanied employment in the profession. “

Service providers were invited by the National Labour Agency to tender for „supported employment“. Because of the technical knowledge stipulated, the awarding of contracts for these services has proved very difficult. In addition, the National Labour Agency wanted to exclude tendering by workshops on principle. It maintained that these measures were not intended for a group of persons that was comparable to that employed in a workshop for disabled persons.

The authority awarding the contracts did not agree with this argument and emphasised the expert knowledge available in the workshops. It confirmed that workshops have been gaining experience with disabled persons during the admission procedure or by offering this group of people suitable vocational training for many years now. Furthermore, it underlined that workshops have been given by law the task to organize the transition from workshop employment to ordinary employment settings. ‘Supported employment’ which is organized in three stages, is supposed to prepare disabled persons better for employment in the general labour market.

As the Federal law was just recently introduced, future will show the effects of the new law with regard to the employment of persons with disabilities.