A good example: Business and corporate social responsibility
How people with disabilities work in Ukraine: Auchan talks about his experience.
Ukrainian law states that if the company employs more than 25 people, 4% of employees must be disabled. In that case, if companies do not comply with this rule, they must pay fines .
According to various estimates, only one in four able-bodied people with disabilities has a job. Volodymyr Petrovskyi, head of the All-Ukrainian Parliament for the Disabled, recently noted that different figures on the number of employed people with disabilities are available at different times, but all of them are far from real.
"Different numbers were mentioned at different times, on average - up to 10% of employed people with disabilities. It will be difficult to name even 1% of people who are not fictitiously employed, ” says Petrovsky.
Thus, experts note that in total in Ukraine about 300 thousand out of 3 million people with disabilities are employed (according to official statistics). However, very often they are paid only 50% of salary or simply have seniority. However, there are positive examples in the country. That is why we are launching a series of materials on how large Ukrainian companies employ people with disabilities and talk about it in detail.
Auchan Ukraine shared its first experience of such employment with us. Currently, there are about 350 people with disabilities, which is 6.2% of the total number of employees.
People with disabilities work in various positions
The company mainly employs people with physical disabilities. Yes, more than 200 people are people with hearing impairments, cerebral palsy and other nosologies. Also, there are people with mental disorders, at the moment there are 8 employees with Down syndrome who work in six stores in Kyiv and Lviv.
Olga Boyko, a leading specialist in corporate social responsibility at Auchan Ukraine, said in a comment that people with disabilities hold a variety of positions in their company.
“For example: people with hearing impairments work as cashiers / cashiers (we do not use the term cashier), as well as pickers and work in the personnel department. People with cerebral palsy work mainly in the departments of "Bakery", "Consumer Goods" and "Stationery". People with mental disabilities, including our 8 employees with Down Syndrome, work in the Bakery, Books, Consumer Goods, Cafe and Document Departments. However, there are no restrictions for them, the main thing is the presence of common values with the company and the necessary competencies, in accordance with the desired position, although often it is not necessary, because we teach everything, "- says Olga Boyko.
It is also interesting that the turnover of people with disabilities is very low. Thus, the company says that in 2018 they celebrated their 10th anniversary in Ukraine and among the 250 employees who have worked there from the beginning, there were more than 20 people with disabilities, including 18 with hearing impairments.
"It is important not only to hire a person with a disability, but also to create such conditions for him to stay in the company as long as possible. According to our observations, staff turnover among people with disabilities is very low. It happens that people with disabilities are fired for various reasons, but then come back, " says Olga Boyko.
Ukrainians are becoming more tolerant
Unfortunately, very often people with disabilities have to deal with irritation and ridicule from others. But now the situation is gradually improving. Yes, Olga Boyko says that over the past five years there has been a marked increase in tolerance among Ukrainians.
“In particular, employees with disabilities are treated with understanding and very kindness. Among our regular customers there are those who go to pay for purchases only at the box office, where people with hearing impairments work, ”Boyko explains.
She adds that some clients have even specifically learned the simple words "good afternoon" and "thank you" in sign language.
That hinders the improvement of the employment situation of people with disabilities
As we have already mentioned, not everything is smooth in the employment of people with disabilities. Most still can’t find work and have to live on help. Experts note that Ukrainian legislation on this issue is very imperfect. As we have already mentioned, if the company employs more than 25 people, 4% of the staff should be people with disabilities, if the company has 8 to 25 people, it is necessary to employ one person with disabilities. This quota system works successfully in the United States and Europe, but not very successfully in our country.
In particular, the legislation does not take into account the specifics of industries and enterprises. Due to the fact that some of them cannot employ people with disabilities, but still have to comply with the quota, the country is growing a shadow market for such employment, that is, when people with disabilities are simply fictitious.
In addition to the need for changes in the legislation, the country also lacks information campaigns that would help both employers and applicants.
Auchan Ukraine told us that, as an employer, they see two main issues that hinder the increase in employment of people with disabilities:
"This is a lack of communication about employment opportunities for people with disabilities, both by companies and by search engines (for example, successful employment stories, etc.). As well as the lack of expert support in employment and retention of a person with disabilities in the workplace (meaning consulting services for the company and for the applicant, in particular, legal support, social educator, etc.), - summed up Olga Boyko, a leading specialist on corporate social responsibility at Auchan Ukraine.
Author Anastasia Ishchenko
Photo Auchan Ukraine
Read also: Results of 2019: health care reform, social benefits, inclusive education and law
Ukrainian law states that if the company employs more than 25 people, 4% of employees must be disabled. In that case, if companies do not comply with this rule, they must pay fines .
According to various estimates, only one in four able-bodied people with disabilities has a job. Volodymyr Petrovskyi, head of the All-Ukrainian Parliament for the Disabled, recently noted that different figures on the number of employed people with disabilities are available at different times, but all of them are far from real.
"Different numbers were mentioned at different times, on average - up to 10% of employed people with disabilities. It will be difficult to name even 1% of people who are not fictitiously employed, ” says Petrovsky.
Thus, experts note that in total in Ukraine about 300 thousand out of 3 million people with disabilities are employed (according to official statistics). However, very often they are paid only 50% of salary or simply have seniority. However, there are positive examples in the country. That is why we are launching a series of materials on how large Ukrainian companies employ people with disabilities and talk about it in detail.
Auchan Ukraine shared its first experience of such employment with us. Currently, there are about 350 people with disabilities, which is 6.2% of the total number of employees.
People with disabilities work in various positions
The company mainly employs people with physical disabilities. Yes, more than 200 people are people with hearing impairments, cerebral palsy and other nosologies. Also, there are people with mental disorders, at the moment there are 8 employees with Down syndrome who work in six stores in Kyiv and Lviv.
Olga Boyko, a leading specialist in corporate social responsibility at Auchan Ukraine, said in a comment that people with disabilities hold a variety of positions in their company.“For example: people with hearing impairments work as cashiers / cashiers (we do not use the term cashier), as well as pickers and work in the personnel department. People with cerebral palsy work mainly in the departments of "Bakery", "Consumer Goods" and "Stationery". People with mental disabilities, including our 8 employees with Down Syndrome, work in the Bakery, Books, Consumer Goods, Cafe and Document Departments. However, there are no restrictions for them, the main thing is the presence of common values with the company and the necessary competencies, in accordance with the desired position, although often it is not necessary, because we teach everything, "- says Olga Boyko.
It is also interesting that the turnover of people with disabilities is very low. Thus, the company says that in 2018 they celebrated their 10th anniversary in Ukraine and among the 250 employees who have worked there from the beginning, there were more than 20 people with disabilities, including 18 with hearing impairments. "It is important not only to hire a person with a disability, but also to create such conditions for him to stay in the company as long as possible. According to our observations, staff turnover among people with disabilities is very low. It happens that people with disabilities are fired for various reasons, but then come back, " says Olga Boyko.
Ukrainians are becoming more tolerant
Unfortunately, very often people with disabilities have to deal with irritation and ridicule from others. But now the situation is gradually improving. Yes, Olga Boyko says that over the past five years there has been a marked increase in tolerance among Ukrainians.
“In particular, employees with disabilities are treated with understanding and very kindness. Among our regular customers there are those who go to pay for purchases only at the box office, where people with hearing impairments work, ”Boyko explains.
She adds that some clients have even specifically learned the simple words "good afternoon" and "thank you" in sign language.
That hinders the improvement of the employment situation of people with disabilities As we have already mentioned, not everything is smooth in the employment of people with disabilities. Most still can’t find work and have to live on help. Experts note that Ukrainian legislation on this issue is very imperfect. As we have already mentioned, if the company employs more than 25 people, 4% of the staff should be people with disabilities, if the company has 8 to 25 people, it is necessary to employ one person with disabilities. This quota system works successfully in the United States and Europe, but not very successfully in our country.
In particular, the legislation does not take into account the specifics of industries and enterprises. Due to the fact that some of them cannot employ people with disabilities, but still have to comply with the quota, the country is growing a shadow market for such employment, that is, when people with disabilities are simply fictitious.
In addition to the need for changes in the legislation, the country also lacks information campaigns that would help both employers and applicants.
Auchan Ukraine told us that, as an employer, they see two main issues that hinder the increase in employment of people with disabilities:
"This is a lack of communication about employment opportunities for people with disabilities, both by companies and by search engines (for example, successful employment stories, etc.). As well as the lack of expert support in employment and retention of a person with disabilities in the workplace (meaning consulting services for the company and for the applicant, in particular, legal support, social educator, etc.), - summed up Olga Boyko, a leading specialist on corporate social responsibility at Auchan Ukraine.
Author Anastasia Ishchenko
Photo Auchan Ukraine
Read also: Results of 2019: health care reform, social benefits, inclusive education and law