Vorarlberg businesses increase employment of people with disabilities

Businesses in Vorarlberg employed 3,416 people with disabilities last year, more than 400 above the figure four years earlier, according to figures from Austria’s Social Ministry reported by ORF.

The number of businesses in the Austrian state has remained stable for years, while the number of employees with disabilities has recently increased. Among the roughly 1,100 businesses employing people with disabilities, the largest group was in manufacturing, with 162 companies, followed by retail with 90, health and social care with 60, and public administration with 53.

Hospitality businesses often pay equalisation tax

Austria’s employment obligation requires businesses of a certain size to employ people with disabilities. Companies must employ one person with a disability for every 25 employees. Businesses that do not meet the requirement must pay an equalisation tax of about 350 to 500 euros per month for each position that should have been filled, depending on the company’s size.

The Social Ministry’s analysis showed that the tax was paid most often in the hotel and catering sector. Last year, 139 Vorarlberg businesses in that sector paid it, while 51 complied with the employment obligation.

AMS placements remain stable

The Public Employment Service Austria, known as AMS, also helps people with disabilities find work. Last year, it placed 217 people with disabilities from Vorarlberg into jobs after they had registered with the service.

That was exactly the same number of placements as in Salzburg, a federal state with a substantially larger population. The average number of placements in Vorarlberg has remained at a similar level over the previous four years.

The people concerned were placed in jobs on the regular labour market, transitional jobs or employment projects. Eleven employment relationships were ended by mutual agreement last year.