Cancer and in general long-term illnesses at workplaces : Study IP/A/EMPL/FWC/2006-05/SC3

Poor health represents a major factor of exclusion from the labour market due to the influenceit exerts on early retirement. A key issue for policy makers is how to maintain the worker withresidual potentialities in active life and at the same time cope with the difficulties the workerand employer come up with continued presence in the workplace.The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the barriers but also of the facilitatorsenhancing reintegration outcomes for chronically sick and absent workers. Without such anunderstanding, it is difficult to design and develop appropriate and transferable interventionsand approaches. Cancer is addressed as a specific long-term illness throughout the study, inorder to delimit, and, at the same time, concretise issues and proposals. The study also intendsto highlight the characteristics of national legislations concerning support for workers withlong-term illnesses to regain, where possible, social inclusion and integration in the labourmarket. The different schemes and approaches applied across the Member States are analysedto point out the level and duration of social protection of sick workers as well as how differentcountries support the workers’ wages and previous standard of living during and after sickleave. The study also intends to analyse ‘return to job’ problems, policies and forms ofreintegration of workers