Get a Job! Active Labour Market Policies and Persons with Disabilities in Danish and European Union Policy

Increasing the overall level of employment is a goal of the Europe 2020 strategy and Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) have become a key tool used by the European Union and its Member States with a view to increasing employment. This article examines the use of ALMPs, with a special focus on their use with regard to persons with disabilities. The employment rate of persons with disabilities is significantly below that of persons without disabilities, and ALMPs have been seen as a way of addressing the high levels of unemployment experienced by this group. The article explores what ALMPs mean in the context of persons with disabilities and takes Denmark as a case study to explore the use of a particular set of ALMPs to promote the employment of persons with disabilities. Denmark is of particular interest because it has undertaken significant reforms of its labour market policy in recent years and placed a particular emphasis on ALMPs, including with regard to persons with disabilities. The article examines ALMPs in general as well as ALMPs which can be directed at persons with disabilities. The article provides an overview of ALMPs in Denmark which target persons with disabilities, with a special focus on the latest reform to the Danish wage subsidy system directed at workers with a disability. The article examines evidence on the effectiveness of ALMPs and assesses the effect the Danish ALMPs reforms have had on persons with disabilities and the benefits and risks that such policies entail