The number of older employees and thus the average age of employees will increase in the coming years. As a result of demographic change, there will be fewer and fewer younger employees. Companies are threatened by an increased rate of sickness.
This is where company integration management (BEM) comes into play.
The aim is to restore and maintain the employability of employees who are absent for more than six weeks due to illness within a year. Companies have been legally obliged to do this since 2004.
Many companies have already had positive experiences with BEM, the care for employees with health problems, and have thus significantly reduced sick leave, including with the following measures:
• working hours are reduced
• the employee is offered another job.
If the employer agrees to the so-called "Hamburg model", he can count on financial support for the reintegration of employees who are deemed unfit for work, provided he complies with the applicable requirements. The model allows sick employees to return to their previous job gradually (in weeks or even months).
With reintegration, companies retain the labor and experience of "long-serving" employees. Employees benefit from this because they are not forced into early retirement or unemployment.
Such measures create trust among the company’s employees.
Another task of the BEM is the long-term reintegration of employees who are absent due to pregnancy, work abroad, etc.
See also:
Health management; Corporate social responsibility (CSR); Working atmosphere; Human capital; Motivation; Social skills; Corporate culture; Integration of people with disabilities; Diversity management; Work stress
Reference to QET guidelines:
E17 Compliance; E04 Employment security; E05 Data protection; E06 Occupational health and safety; E07 Stress prevention; E09 Working hours; E15 Reintegration