Disability management has focused on a preventive and anticipatory approach. Supervisors are expected to intervene at an early stage in any working capacity issues that they observe in their employees. They are supported in this by the Work Ability Coordinator, wellbeing at work officers in each area, occupational health care and experts from KEVA. Cooperation between personnel, employer, occupational health care and occupational safety manifests itself in things such as a low number of permanent disability pensions and a decrease in the number of absences due to illness.
The working capacity of HUS personnel remained at a high level by national standards. The ratio of payroll expenses arising from disability pension payments and absences due to illness to staff expenses is smaller than average by national comparison.
The results of disability management are apparent in favorable trends in absences due to illness and in occupational accidents. Absences due to illness have been decreasing for a couple of years now. In 2019, there were 13.6 sick days per person, 0.5 days fewer than in the previous year.
This is partly due to the practice of replacement work to make up for absences due to illness: 90 employees performed replacement work, to a total of 1,590 days. The estimated cost benefit of replacement work was EUR 556,500 (at a cost estimate of EUR 350 per day). The incidence of replacement work to make up for absences due to illness should be further increased, because replacement work is financially beneficial besides facilitating employees’ return to work.
Early retirement on a disability pension can be prevented through adapted work. Adapted work is used only to a marginal extent now, and opportunities for it should be increased. In the year under review there were 14 employees performing adapted work; during the year, three of them retired on an old age pension and one on a disability pension.
In the year under review, 23 employees retired on a disability pension, ten more than in the previous year. On January 1, 2019, the early retirement contribution was replaced by the disability pension contribution, which in 2019 amounted to 0.64% of the HUS payroll, compared to 0.90% on average in the local government sector.