France

Disability Definition

Any limitation on the activity or restriction of participation in the life of a person in society by a person because of a substantial, permanent or permanent impairment of one or more physical functions constitutes a disability: sensory, mental, cognitive or psychic, polyhandicap or disabling health condition.

Employer Legal Requirements

French law sets an employment obligation quota of 6% of disabled workers for any employer with at least 20 employees.
– 3 options to meet this target: Hiring people with disabilities (direct hire), subcontracting workers from the sheltered sector (indirect hire), paying a contribution fee to a specific organization which then uses the funds to further professional inclusion in both the private and public sectors

Up to 80% of the measures taken to hire a disabled worker, including equipment and specific training, can be compensated through public funding.

The French measures to promote employment of persons with disabilities are double-sided., and consist of (1) the employment obligation to employ specified percentage of persons with disabilities (employment quota system), and (2) improvement of law concerning employment and work conditions for those people. The government tries to promote the employment of persons with disabilities and improve their work conditions through these two approaches.

The employer’s “obligation to exercise reasonable accommodation” can be interpreted as an extension and development of the employer’s “obligation to provide readaptation” (obligation to maintain at work) that has existed for some time. It is clearly stated in the labor law that employer’s refusal to provide reasonable accommodation would be regarded as a discriminatory treatment.
– reasonable accommodation provided by employers is supported by various forms of financial assistance given through labor contracts and institutions such as AGEFIPH in France.

From the employer’s side wishing to recruit an employee there mustn’t be any positive or negative segregation in the selection process. During the selection interview the disability situation of the candidate should be mentioned only in case the recruitment of the person would imply some specific adaptations of the working conditions.

Employers must file reports with CDAPH (Committee on the Rights and Autonomy of Persons with Disabilities)

Employers can ask disability status information at the Application stage: no
After offer has been made: yes, assuming employee has been given GDPR-compliant notice of the data collection
After employment commences: yes, assuming employee has been given GDPR-compliant notice of the data collection

Cultural Norms

Disability affects 12 million French citizens. To improve the living conditions and resources available to our disabled fellow citizens, the Government is rolling out a comprehensive, interministerial policy which, from 2018, will lead to specific ministerial action plans being set up.

France lags about four decades behind countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom when it comes to diagnosing and treating autism. For example, only in 2005 did France stopped defining autism as a psychosis.

In Paris, if you see a blind or disabled person at a corner, it’s considered completely normal to grab his arm and walk him across the street. (From a Business Insider article)

Insights

Beginning in 2018, France has launched a comprehensive disability inclusion campaign nationally, spanning policy areas of human rights, social safety nets, education. For employment, the campaign’s theme is “Accessing the job market and working like everyone else.” Priority areas under this theme include reducing the gap between the unemployment rates for people with and without disabilities; making recruitment and retention easier for both public and private entities; reforming the requirement to employ disabled workers from what is perceived as a punitive approach through fines into an asset-value proposition aligned with social responsibility; increasing skills training and easing school-to-work transitions.

While public awareness is growing, and disability rights have made some headway in France, equal opportunity is still a distant prospect, not least because the state itself is lagging behind. On top of those practical challenges come a number of social obstacles: among them, the marginalization that comes from a lack of representation and visibility.

Talent Sourcing Resources

GIRPH Regional Interprofessional Group for the Promotion of Employment and Disability (Le Groupement Interprofessionnel Régional de Promotion de l’Emploi et du Handicap) Specializing in support and job placement for people with disabilities.

ANRH Association for the Integration and the Professional and Human Reintegration of the Disabled (Association pour l’Insertion et la Réinsertion Professionnelle et Humaine des Handicapés) Focus on sheltered workshops, supported employment, and transitional or vocational rehabilitation employment.

HANDICAP FRANCE Web resource clearinghouse with a job posting board and job seeker matching assistance.

References

The DOETH Toolbox

Disability: a priority for the five-year term. Government web resource.

Report of France to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2017 advance copy

How France is facing its outdated autism treatment and care practices

7 French Customs That Americans Don’t Understand

Center for Talent Innovation – Disabilities & Innovation Report

French Accessibility Requirements