‘Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers’
The report ‘Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers (Vol.3) – Denmark, Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands’ published by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals numbers that show that governments should continue reforming sickness and disability systems. Denmark and the Netherlands have seen rapid increases in the number of young people claiming disability benefits, while Ireland is facing a rapid increase in the use of long-term sickness and disability schemes, especially for people over 50. Also, in Finland, disability benefits are being mainly used as a substitute for early retirement, with 70% of all new recipients being older than 50. In order to manage the increasing numbers of workers claiming disability benefits, Denmark and the Netherlands have already streamlined the roles and responsibilities of their main public agencies to create a one-stop-shop service for people on sickness or disability benefit. This has made the benefit and employment support system simpler and more transparent and improved co-operation and co-ordination.
