Training Outline

4.3 Standard Lecture: A Non-Binding Quota Based on a Recommendation (35 minutes)

• Explain that under a non-binding quota that employers are not legally obliged to employ a set percentage of workers with disabilities but it is recommended that they do so. Compliance with the quota is voluntary at best and there is no sanction stemming from non-compliance. Use Transparency 69 to describe this type of quota.

• Using Transparency 70, explain that a non-binding quota system existed in the Netherlands in the mid-1980s. The quota target was between three and five per cent to be achieved over three years. Upon evaluation, the government decided the system had created little improvement and was abolished. Summarize by stating that a voluntary quota, involving no legal obligation on employers, and no sanctions in the event of a failure to meet the target, is unlikely to have much impact on the number of people with disabilities in employment.

  Brazil has an interesting variation on typical quota scheme structure – it is not voluntary, nor does it use levies. This quota applies to companies with 100 or more employees and requires that at the 100 employee level, two per cent of the workforce must be people with disabilities. The requirement increases incrementally up to five per cent for firms with 1,000 workers. Monitoring and enforcement is the responsibility of the Ombudsman’s office. Employers may not avoid complying simply by paying a fine. Instead, companies must demonstrate and provide detailed plans and documentation to the Ombudsman’s office concerning what they are doing to meet the requirement, including their plan for recruitment, hiring, training, and so forth. The Brazilian model is also unique in that Centres for Independent Living (CILs) and other Disabled People’s Organizations (DPOs) play an active role in the implementation of quota requirements. There are now 22 CILs and more than 500 DPOs in Brazil, many of which are self-sustaining and none of which receive funding from the federal or local government. Many employers contract with these organizations while implementing strategies to meet the quota requirement, in order to assist with recruitment and training of potential employees and in some cases to manage groups of employees with disabilities. CILs and DPOs maintain a database of people with disabilities who are seeking work and coordinate with the companies for whom they are providing workers. The approach often involves several partners, with the CILs providing the work socialization aspects; training schools providing the technical training; and the company providing the specific job training. Typically, the companies contract with the organizations to provide the needed workers, who are under 2-year contracts and are paid by the CIL/DPO.