Supported Emplayment from the Perspective of Emplayers

The philosophy of supported employment in the Czech Republic has been developing for over than twenty years. Nevertheless this service is still neglected and only a few non-profit organizations put it into practice. The service is not legislatively based and also the society does not have a clear opinion on employment of people with disabilities. Current labour market situation is not advantageous at all. Therefore some support of disabled people looking for a job is becoming more necessary and required. The employers are an important part of the whole problems, because their attitude to the idea of supported employment plays a significant role. The bachelor's thesis "Supported Employment from the Perspective of Employers" has pretentions to look into supported employment from the employers' point of view. They are not active initiators of the service, but they are important participants for its successful realization. The theoretical part of the thesis tries to describe the basic problems. It covers the service of supported employment from historical development to its importance. It focuses on special characteristics of disabilities and their social impact on human beings. The closing part is dedicated to working opportunities for people with disabilities in the circumstances of current legislative and economic situation. The practical part is written in the form of a qualitative research. The method of questioning and semi-structured interviews were used for the purposes of the research. Eight people were chosen intentionally for the survey. The data gained from the interviews were analysed with the method of open coding. The main aim of the thesis was to map out empoyers' experience with the service of supported employment. Motivation of employers to put this service into practice was the next part of the research. The question was: "What reasons for realization of supported employment do predominate by employers?" The research showed the most frequent facts, which predestine the integration possibility of disabled people in open labour market fundamentally. After the interviews and answering the questions of the research, it was possible to describe the employers' experience with the supported employment service and also their main incentives for its realization. It was found out that employers' experience with the supported employment service is quite limited. Employers often get to know it through the agency for supported employment, which is not only the initiator of cooperation, but it also plays an important role when a disabled person is being employed. An important point of successful employment is often how the emploeyer is satisfied with the agency. The employment of disabled people often brings certain risks connected with the limits of disabilities. Employers, who enable disabled people to work, are aware of that. The impulse for employment can vary from financial advantages, company philantrophy to personal solidarity of the employer. Social responsibility of the company is becoming a trend, that many employers start to know. But it can be presumed to influence the employment of more people with disabilities and at the same time the looking up the supported employment service by the employers. This bachelor's thesis can be contributive to understanding the importance of employment for disabled people's living. It brings information about the employers' experience with the realization of supported employment and motivation to the realization. It can also help to uncover integration obstacles of people with disabilities in open labour market