New type of support introduced for social enterprises employing persons with disabilities or mental disorders
Social enterprises will be able to receive a one-off wage compensation payment for employing persons with disabilities or mental disorders, provided that, before entering into employment, those persons have registered with the State Employment Agency as unemployed persons.
The new type of support is provided for by amendments to several Cabinet regulations, which have been drafted to increase the integration of unemployed persons in disadvantaged situations into the labour market. They were approved at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 6 July.
The compensation is planned to be set at an amount equal to the monthly wage calculated and paid to the employed person for the first full calendar month of employment, and its amount will not exceed 100 per cent of the average wage in the relevant profession.
This is necessary because unemployed persons with disabilities or mental disorders are a group of people in particularly difficult circumstances due to their lower work productivity, making it more difficult for this group to find employment. The aim of the support is to motivate social enterprises to employ unemployed persons from this group during the public health crisis and its aftermath. The new support will increase employment opportunities for persons with disabilities or mental disorders.
At the end of June 2021, 67,606 persons were registered as unemployed.
Author:
Ministry of Welfare
lm.gov.lv




