Inclusion: New law offers opportunities for robotics

Companies with 20 or more employees are obliged to employ severely disabled persons. If they do not meet this obligation, they must pay a "compensatory levy". From January 1, 2024, this will rise massively to €720 per month for each missing mandatory job. Companies with at least 20 employees are therefore obliged to create jobs for people with a severe disability. Up to 39 employees, they must offer one corresponding job, up to 59 employees two. From 60 employees, the quota of such jobs must be at least five percent. The funds from the equalization levy are used to promote the employment of severely disabled people in the labor market. The funds are also used to pay wage subsidies. These are increased. Unfortunately, I cannot specify the amount of these wage subsidies.

Robotics can help with inclusion

Rethink Robotics, Omron, and probably others have already shown how robotics can help integrate disabled people into the workplace. In times of staff shortages, important jobs could be filled in this way. Now there is still quite a high budget available, so to speak. This is especially true in 2-shift operation. Then productive work is possible, the enterprise does something good and actually self-evident and saves itself 1,440 euro/month at obligation tax. If there is then also a wage subsidy, there is actually no longer any reason to refrain from hiring.

Resourceful solutions are important

Disabilities are individually different. Compensating for physical disabilities should be more standard for robotics, as it likes to improve ergonomics anyway. Solutions are also possible for mental disabilities.

Text to the video: The Sawyer is here to provide individualized support for physical functions during assemblies - holding, lifting, and applying lubricants or hot adhesives. The assistant provides sensory support with assisted decision making, orientation, and simultaneously serves as a cognitive assistant in a dynamic work environment - increasing performance reliability and reducing mental workload. The assisted human-robot collaboration is the easiest, the fastest, the cheapest, and the most operational way of inclusion and #integration in modern dynamic complex production both at sheltered workshops and in industry.

Photo above: Rethink Robotics

Are we networking? LinkedIn
-> Go to the Cobot group on LinkedIn (link). The author is also a consultant (robotics, tech & finance). Hardly anyone should have a comparable market and solution overview. Thanks to state subsidies, SMEs have the opportunity of a company visit with concrete recommendations etc. at a flat rate of 1,750 € ("special areas" 800 €) incl. travel.