Employee centric, flexible job - read about the rules and rights here

Flexible job

A flexible job is a work offer for citizens who cannot work on the labour market under normal conditions. This could be, for example, people with reduced working capacity due to physical condtions.

In this article, we will make you more aware of what flexible work entails and which employees are entitled to a flexible job. At the end of the article, we will also explain the difference between a flexible job and an employee centric job.

What is a flexible job?

A flexible job is designed for those who cannot work under normal conditions. Thus, it is a way in which people with reduced working capacity can become part of the labour market.

Flexi jobs can be in private or public workplaces. Flexi jobs are often on reduced hours and with special care considerations, either physically or mentally. The working day is organised based on the employee's ability and needs have extra breaks. Considerations for safety can, for example, be a reduced pace of work, fewer or non physical work tasks and more breaks. In this way, the individual employee's ability to work is taken into account.

On 1 January 2013, new flexible job rules came into force. These rules mean that the flexi job is temporary for five years at a time, as the municipality assesses after 4 ½ years whether the flexi job employee should continue to hold a flexi job position. These rules apply if the employee started their flexible job after 2012 and has not yet reached the age of 40.

If, on the other hand, the employee has reached the age of 40, they can get a permanent flexible job after their first flexible job. This can happen if the employee still meets the requirements for holding a flexible job position. In addition, the job centre must assess that the employee's ability to work continues to be reduced to such an extent that it is not realistic for that person to go to work under normal conditions.

It is worth mentioning that all flexi job employees who were employed before 1 January 2013 do not have to be assessed by the municipality every 5 years as to whether they are entitled to continue in their flexi job. However, the new rules come into force if the employee chooses to switch to a new flexible job.

Which employees can get a flexible job?

A flexible job takes into account the limitation of the individual employee's ability to work.

The following conditions must be met before the municipality can grant a flexible job position:

• The person must be under the national pension age and must not receive an early pension

• The municipality must conclude that the person concerned ability to work is sufficiently and permanently reduced

• All possibilities to acquire the citizen a regular employment must be investigated

Flexi jobs can exist in all industries and can be a good opportunity for employees with reduced working capacity to work with subjects they are trained in, or have experience with from previous workplaces.

What is the salary and salary supplement for employees who have a flexible job position?

Flexi job employees receive wages from the employer exclusively for the work that is performed. In other words: The real work effort the flexi job employee provides. The real work effort means that an employee in a flexible job is paid for efficiency and not the number of hours worked. It is the job centre that determines the ability to work in the flexible job and how many hours the flexible job employee can work.

Example: "Jakob is assessed to be able to work 30 hours a week, but with an intensity of 50%, as he needs several rest breaks during the working day. Thus, Jakob is paid for 15 hours of work a week."

People who have a flexible job position, in addition to their salary from the workplace, also receive a subsidy from the municipality in the form of a flexible wage subsidy, which is regulated on the basis of the wage income from the employer. A flexi job employee can at most be paid a total income corresponding to the full time salary in the position in question.

What is the difference between an employee centric job and a flexible job?

An employee centric job is work on special terms with a wage subsidy for the employer. It can either be a full time or part time position. This kind of job usually consists of fewer working hours and special work tasks that have been arranged so that the tasks are compatible with the employee's functional ability and work resources.

This job is intended for early retirees who are unable to get or maintain part time work on normal working conditions. This applies regardless of whether the person concerned has been granted an early pension or not.

In this way, a person centric job differs from a flexible job, as it is for people who receive early retirement and want to try their hand at a less demanding job on the side. One of the requirements to obtain a flexible job, however, is that the person concerned must not receive an early retirement pension. Click below if you want: