People with Disabilities
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Introduction
This web feature aims to provide links to practical information, on the sites of other organisations, regarding workplace safety and health issues relating to the integration and retention of people with disabilities in employment. It includes guidelines, advice, practical case studies from the workplace level, details of programmes and strategies in this area as well as policy discussion documents.
There are links to information provided by Member States, European and international organisations. These links to practical information are sorted according to a list of relevant topics. There are also links, sorted by country, to the homepages of organisations providing relevant information on disability.
As much of the information as possible that is listed here is free of charge, but there may be some links to sites where there is priced documentation. Also, some sites may require registration even if the material is subsequently free.
The links have been complied to contribute to the 
European Year
of People with Disabilities in 2003. But it is intended as a permanent feature
on the Agency site.
We do not seek to make a close definition of disability. It covers both physical and mental impairments and covers all employees who might be hampered in work performance. This includes people with long term or progressive conditions as well as people with more stable disorders. Also, the links to guidance and policies relating to people with disabilities reflect the diversity of cultures and legislative frameworks in the EU Member States. Each Member State has adopted a range of measures to promote the integration and employment of people with disabilities.
Using the information in the workplace: Many of the links are to good practice guidance and case studies from the workplace. These may not be directly applicable, but will need adapting to the context and needs of an individual workplace.
Measures to protect people with disabilities from workplace hazards should be based on a prior risk assessment. A risk assessment is nothing more than a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can judge whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm. The aim is to make sure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill. A risk assessment involves identifying the hazards present in any undertaking (whether arising from work activities or from other factors, e.g. the layout of the premises) and then evaluating the extent of the risks involved, taking into account existing precautions. It should identify any individuals particularly at risk. The results of a suitable and sufficient risk assessment should help users choose which good practice measures are most appropriate to prevent risks in general and also to prevent risks to any individuals identified as being particularly at risk.
The adoption of any policies and measures should always be carefully planned, and carried out with consultation of the workforce and their representatives as a key component of success. This should include the active involvement of workers with disabilities. It is also good practice for those with health and safety responsibilities and roles in the workplace and those involved with equalities issues to work together.
Preventing workplace hazards and return-to-work following work-related injury and ill health. Where ill health and injury and disability have been caused or made worse by the work itself, it is fundamental that employers tackle these underlying causes of health problems in the workplace as well as having in place measures to support the return-to-work and retention of employees. Appropriate return-to-work measures, medical and vocational, are needed to get people back to work and get them back quickly. Employers' duties to prevent workplace hazards are set in a series of European directives and implemented in Member State legislation. Practical information about preventing workplace hazards can be found by searching other areas of the Agency website. In particular see the publications and Good Practice areas.
Language: Where sites provide information in languages other than the main language of the site an attempt has been made to indicated this in the description of the site. For example some Canadian information is available in French, some USA information is available in Spanish and some Finnish information is available in English. Some of the European Agency information is available in all the European Community languages and some of the ILO information can be read in various languages. A link to translation help is also available at the main page.
