Employment support for people with ASD in Poland Katarzyna Matynia SYNAPSIS Foundation, Poland

Background People with ASD approx people with ASD live in Poland only around 1-2% are employed

The most common job opportunities for people with disabilities in Poland (1) Sheltered employment Sheltered workplaces (centers of work activity - ZAZ) and sheltered workshops (occupational therapy workshops - WTZ) are designed for people with other types of disability than autism spectrum disorders. There are known only single cases of people with ASD working on the sheltered labour market. In Poland there is only 1 center of work activity for people with autism (Different Things Atelier run by SYNAPSIS Foundation - it employs 24 people with ASD, 4 of them with Asperger Syndrome or HFA) and only 1 occupational therapy workshop (in Warsaw).

The most common job opportunities for people with disabilities in Poland (2) Open labour market Employers who employ people with disabilities on the open labour market receive smaller financial support than employers who employ them on the sheltered labour market, which makes the open labour market almost inaccessible for people with ASD. Particularly funding for assistant in the workplace is too low, that is why employers don’t use this opportunity. Employers on the open labour market usually don’t have sufficient knowledge about advantages concerning employing people with ASD. There is no support system for people with ASD which is aimed at preparing them for professional work There is no proper educational offer adjusted to their special needs

The most common job opportunities for people with disabilities in Poland (3) Open labour market - continuation There is no complex advisory system There is no training adapting skills of people with an ASD to current demands of labour market The unique potential of persons with an ASD is not well used As a result, the majority of people with an ASD remains at home or in care facilities Open labour market can be accessible only for single high-functioning people with autism and those with Asperger syndrome, if the workplace is well planned and individually adjusted, with special support. Unfortunately, most of people with ASD are not successful during their job interviews due to their low social skills and usually lack of previous job experiences.

Supported employment in Poland Supported employment is a way to assist individuals with disabilities with employment on the open labour market. The term ‘supported employment’ is related to: co-financing their salaries (to some extent, dependant on the level of their disability) fines for employers who don’t employ disabled people (applies to employers obliged to make such payments for PFRON) direct support for disabled employees (assistant at workplace, job coach) adapting workplaces for people with disabilities

Levels of disability (1) Polish system of supported employment of people with disabilities to some extent relates to levels of disability distinguished and assessed in the Polish disability assessment system. There are three disability levels certified: significant, moderate and light: a) Significant – assessed for people with severe limitations, unable to work or able to work only in sheltered employment who require constant or long-term assistance of other people both to perform social roles and perform activities of everyday life b) Moderate – assessed for people with moderate limitations, unable to work or able to work only in sheltered employment who require temporary or partial help of other people to perform social roles c) Light – assessed for people with some limitations that decrease to a significant degree capabilities for performing work in comparison with people without mental or physical limitations who have similar professional qualifications or for people who have limitations in performing social roles, which, however, can be compensated by some technical aids, such as orthopaedic aids.

Levels of disability (2) According to legislation people with moderate and significant level of disability CAN WORK even in the open labour market, if the employer adjusts the workplace to their particular needs. In Poland disability certificates are not granted on a permanent basis. People with disabilities receive them for 1-3 years and then they have to apply again to receive them. It happens that when they re-apply, they are refused to get certificate or they receive different level of disability than before.

Financial assistance for employers provided by the state (1) 1. Co-financing salaries of people with disabilities (to some extent, dependant on the level of their disability) In Poland employers have the right to receive financing of the salary of an employee with a disability, in the amount of: - 180% of the minimum wage - in the case of persons with disabilities classified as significant - 100% of the minimum wage - in the case of persons with disabilities classified as moderate - 40% of the minimum wage - in the case of people with disabilities classified as light Employer who employs a person with autism spectrum disorders gets additional 40% of the minimum wage (for example: 180% + 40%).

Financial assistance for employers provided by the state (2) 2. Employers are entitled to reimbursement of certain costs incurred in order to adapt the workplace for people with disabilities (to some extent and only if the disabled person will be employed by them for at least 36 months. Reimbursement concerns only the additional costs resulting from employment of disabled people). 3. Employers are entitled to reimbursement of workplace equipment for disabled person (up to fifteen times of the average wage) 4. Employers who employ disabled people don’t have to pay fines for PFRON or pay lower fines (amount of the fine depends on how many people with disabilities they employ and it applies to employers obliged to make such payments for PFRON - see description in the point 5)

Financial assistance for employers provided by the state (3) 5. The right to reimbursement of the monthly costs of employing staff to assist the disabled worker in activities connected to communication with the environment, and performing activities that are impossible or difficult to execute by an employee with a disability in the workplace (reimbursement equals to the lowest wage multiplied by number of hours of support dedicated only to help disabled person, but no more then 20% of working hours of disabled person during the month) 6. The right to reimbursement of part of the cost of training people with disabilities

Fines for employers who don’t employ disabled people (1) In Poland there are fines for employers who don’t employ disabled people These fines - in the form of contributions to PFRON (State Fund for Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities) - applie to employers with at least 25 employees (converted into full-time) who are not generating 6% rate of employment of people with disabilities. Mandatory fee is 40% of the minimum wage for each employee that is lacking to hire at least 6% of people with disabilities. An employer who chooses to employ a person with a disability may be exempt from fine (or part of fine) for not employing disabled people.

Fines for employers who don’t employ disabled people (2) Employers who employ less than 25 employees don’t pay fine for PFRON and they receive financing of the salary of each employee with a disability. Employers who employ more than 25 employees and at least 6% of them are disabled people don’t pay fine for PFRON and also receive financing of the salary of each employee with a disability Exception: public offices - they just don’t have to pay fine if employ at least 6%, but don’t get financing of their salaries if employ more than 6%.

Fines for employers who don’t employ disabled people (3) Money gathered as fines goes to PFRON (State Fund for Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities). PFRON allocates the money to various purposes related with supporting disabled people: - Some of the money goes to financing salaries of people with disabilities, adapting workplaces for people with disabilities, providing assistance for disabled employees at workplace, etc. - Some of the money is used as contribution in the projects dedicated to children and adults with disabilities, especially to provide them with social and vocational rehabilitation, to help them become more self-reliant, to help their integration. - Some of the money goes to co-finance sheltered work places like our center of work activity (ZAZ).

Only financial support State funding not sufficient as it doesn’t take into consideration the actual needs of people with ASD People with ASD require more individual support than other groups of disabled people, so they require also more funds. State support Initiated by SYNAPSIS Foundation (for people with ASD) Possible thanks to financial support (particularly support of EU) Support provided within projects (limited access, short-term) NGO support Employment support for people with disabilities in Poland

Employment support offered by SYNAPSIS Foundation SYNAPSIS Foundation has lead a few projects providing employment support for adults with ASD such as: “Employ the Ace” ( ) “Support of people with autism”( ) “Specialists” (2013) Our projects are dedicated to social and vocational activation of adults with Asperger Syndrome and HFA (“Employ the Ace”, “Specialists”). The project “Support of people with autism” provided support also for low- functioning adults with autism.

Project “Employ the Ace” “Employ the Ace” was the first and the most important project led by SYNAPSIS Foundation, that helped us to pave the way to employment of people with ASD in Poland. Before the project “Employ the Ace” very few people with high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome in the country had a job in the open market (at least very few diagnosed people, that we had knowledge about). Thanks to SYNAPSIS Foundation projects the situation has slightly changed, but we can talk about the beginnings of employment of people with ASD in the open marker in Poland.

Developed as a result of our cooperation with two international partners: National Autistic Society – Prospects from the UK and Specialist People Foundation from Denmark Tested and adapted to local circumstances during the project financed by European Union in The first and the only such solution for adults with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism (HFA) in Poland so far The Model The Model of Social and Vocational Activation Programme for People with Asperger Syndrome and High-functioning Autism

The main idea of the Model is to focus on abilities and advantages of people with an ASD which can be attractive for potential employers such as: attention to details accuracy motivation to work honesty ability to perform repetitive and routine tasks Who is the Ace?

14 participants – people with Asperger syndrome (13) or high-functioning autism (1) 10 men and 4 women Most of them years old 13 with at least secondary education 9 months of training (October June 2012) Testing the Model

Types of support for people with ASD included in the Model Lawyer support group training individual sessions Internships in private enterprices, public offices and NGO assistant support Office skills training using office equipment writing formal letters working with documents Social skills training Social skills training group traninig individual sessions Employment Advisor support group training individual sessions IT training MS Office Windows XP/7 html

New, unknown issue for employers Interest (or even fascination) in way of thinking of people with Asperger syndrome Willingness to join the programme (interest in participating in workshops, reading informational materials etc.) Eager to adapt workplaces Attitude of employers

leaflet meetings with potential employers posterwww press conference film Publication (MODEL) brochure workshops conference with internation al partners press conference Dissemination of the results

Growing self-confidence of people with ASD Development and usage of their hidden potential Development of their social skills Increase of their vocational skills and motivation to work All of the people with Asperger syndrome and HFA who took part in our projects have been well prepared to actively look for a job They know how to write a good CV and covering letter They know what to expect during the job interview and practiced such interview with the coach a couple of times Internships helped them to get valuable job experience Why is worth to use the Model? (1)

Employment for people with ASD After the project “Employ the Ace” 7 out of 14 participants have been employed, 5 of them found employment on the open labour market. Another few people found jobs on the open labour market after finishing our other projects. Some of them are really successful, valued by employers as very reliable and thorough employees. Why is worth to use the Model? (2)

Thank you for your attention! Katarzyna Matynia SYNAPSIS Foundation, Warsaw, Poland More information: