The Employment Service retains support for the disabled

The SIUS consultants help job seekers with a disability to find a suitable workplace. And they can also participate in the workplace and support both the employee and the employer for up to two years.

- It is an exclusive effort that costs a lot, but it pays off, says Håkan Ljungberg, head of the Employment Service in Linköping.

According to him, many of the participants in SIUS get jobs after the intervention, often with a so-called salary contribution. This means that the Employment Service goes in and pays part of the salary to compensate for the disability.

Although the Employment Service makes major reductions, it will retain the number of SIUS consultants, according to Sven Zachari, who is a qualified administrator at the head office of the Employment Service. At present, there are approximately 850 SIUS consultants within the Swedish Employment Service.

- The need will remain and one goal is for more job seekers to be able to get a job supported by SIUS. At present, there are no decisions to change the number of employees working with SIUS, says Sven Zachari.

This is what Håkan Ljungberg, head of the Employment Service in Linköping, sees as a venture.

- It is clear that this is an investment - in that we have become many fewer on the total, but still have about as many SIUS consultants.

On the other hand, he sees a risk that people with disabilities may have to wait longer for help, since there are fewer job intermediaries and people who investigate work ability.

Last year, the number of individuals participating in SIUS decreased slightly compared with the previous year. The reduction is expected to be due to the large reduction in staffing carried out by the Swedish Employment Service in 2019.