Work ability risk management and vocational rehabilitation as our core competence

Measures to manage the work ability risks of our customer companies continued to focus on enhancing the work ability knowhow of the entire work community, on managerial work and on improving personnel processes that promote work ability. The impactfulness of events enhancing know-how and awareness was at an excellent level, because up to 95 per cent of those participating in such events felt that they had benefited from the information they had gained in their own work to promote work ability.

Transforming work and the novel methods of working, with their hybrid models, have entailed new types of requirements for management and for caring for the work ability of the personnel. The findings of the previously conducted risk assessments are no longer relevant in all respects and our work ability experts have, indeed, assisted numerous customer companies to survey the work ability of their personnel and to identify measures required for mitigating work ability risks in this new situation.

With the support of Veritas’ work ability surveys, our customers actively developed their working collectives and exerted efforts towards supporting work ability in 2022. As many as 93 per cent of the companies in which psychosocial risks were identified based on the survey undertook action to mitigate them. The themes that were particularly highlighted during the year included those related to leadership and collaboration within the working community, when the development of working conditions was being discussed with companies.

During 2022, we enhanced the knowhow of our work ability experts in pension rehabilitation. Our objective is for the purpose and means of rehabilitation to be well-known in all workplaces and to ensure that such means are also made use of for restoring work ability and mitigating work ability risks. We shall continue with this educational work also during the current year.

The Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority audited Veritas’ work ability operations between the time period of October 2021 through May 2022. The audit has been elaborated upon in the Good Governance section of this report.

Target 3: We support our customers in managing work ability risks

Vocational rehabilitation facilitates continuation in working life despite deteriorating work ability

Vocational rehabilitation is our most tangible tool for combating work ability risks. Vocational rehabilitation aims to restore the rehabilitee’s ability to return to working life and thereby reduces the need for occupational disability pensions. The methods applied in vocational rehabilitation include, for instance, work trial, work coaching, further training or retraining, or supporting entrepreneurship.

In 2022, we continued with the joint efforts of the entire industry aiming to improve awareness and impactfulness of vocational rehabilitation. We participated in a tour of regional employee pension training sessions organised by the Finnish Pension Alliance Tela and were given the opportunity to relay the purpose of the rehabilitation and of the possibilities it entails to a number of employers. Alongside impactfulness, ensuring the consistency of the resolution policy concerning rehabilitation requires continuous work efforts. For our part, we want to ensure that the decisions follow the same policy, regardless of the pension company processing the application. The collaboration has been successful and we also find it to be extremely valuable.

Application volumes for vocational rehabilitation decreased in 2022. We issued a total of 178 (187) rehabilitation decisions (acceptances and rejections). The total number of advance decisions concerning the right to the rehabilitation allowance or to the rehabilitation itself issued amounted to 183 (212). The number of rehabilitation decisions issued within the entire industry amounted to 6 680 (6 804) and the number of advance decisions totalled 5 235 (6 154). Unfortunately, in a certain percentage of cases, the prerequisites stipulated for the rehabilitation are not met. From the applications submitted to us last year, we were compelled to reject 44.9 per cent (42.8). Across the entire industry, the percentage of rejected applications amounted to 48 per cent (39).

Application volumes for vocational rehabilitation

It is a priority for us that the supported rehabilitation is impactful. We require for the employability effect of the rehabilitation, as well as the suitability of the intended work, to be assessed prior to approving the rehabilitation plan. Our insurance physicians provide us with the medical assessment of the suitability of the working task or the relevant industry for the rehabilitee. In 2022, we have engaged in a closer dialogue between the pension expert making the decision and the insurance physician conducting the medical assessment. We believe that this will further reinforce our already solid decision praxis and will also reduce the time expended on making the decision.