The aim of vocational rehabilitation is to support your employee when they are at risk of losing their work ability permanently as a result of an illness, handicap or injury. Rehabilitation may help them either continue at work or return to work. If the illness of your employee is prolonged or hinders their coping at work, you should sit down with your employee and examine if vocational rehabilitation would enable them to continue working either at their own workplace or somewhere else.
It is always good to begin discussions concerning vocational rehabilitation with the occupational health service or other health care professional and request a medical statement B for the application. Vocational rehabilitation can only be granted if the legal requirements are met. For more information about vocational rehabilitation and the different rehabilitation options, please contact our rehabilitation services.
It is also possible to return to working life through vocational rehabilitation if you are receiving a temporary disability pension or cash rehabilitation benefit.
Employer as support for the rehabilitee
If the work ability of your employee is weakened due to health reasons and continuing at work feels difficult, you should raise the issue as soon as possible at the workplace and with the occupational health service, so that the issue can be moved forward.
As employer, you should realise that you are not entitled to receive information related to an individual’s rehabilitation from the pension institution. Your employee may disclose the information if they wish, but they do not need to do so. We, therefore, encourage you to proactively build an open relationship based on trust with your employees.
The progress of the vocational rehabilitation process is such that first your employee receives a preliminary decision concerning their right to vocational rehabilitation, after which they themselves decide whether to accept the rehabilitation and to begin planning their rehabilitation process or not.
Means of rehabilitation
Returning to the workplace
Can changes be made at your workplace to help the rehabilitee continue at work? If so,
- you can draft a plan for returning to work with your employee and submit the details to Veritas
- we offer help in drafting the rehabilitation plan
When an employee continues rehabilitation elsewhere
- discuss continuing or ending the employment relationship and other options at the workplace
- we offer help in drafting the rehabilitation plan
Once your employee has received a preliminary decision for rehabilitation from us (and they have informed you):
- what practical measures are needed at the workplace and how will the situation affect employment relationship matters
- if needed, participate in the work ability negotiations to draft the rehabilitation plan (rehabilitation contents)
- we provide help and guidance in drafting the rehabilitation plan
If the requirements for vocational rehabilitation or disability pension are not met,
your employee will also receive the grounds for the negative decision as well as contact information for further information. Your employee may contact us directly, and we will gladly help direct them forward.
