부산대학교 도서관

Differences in disability figures and the approach to disability in the Netherlands and GermanyOur country was long known for high disability figures. Now, there is international appreciation for how the influx to the WAO and WIA was contained by many measures. Until recently, the German disability figures were significantly lower than those in Netherlands. These figures remained relatively stable over the years. In this literature review the legislation around and the approach to disability in Netherlands and Germany has been compared with the intention to better understand the downward trend in Netherlands.Over the last few decades, social security in the Netherlands changed thoroughly. As a result, the inflow into the WAO and the WIA diminished considerably, especially since 2002. The number of people with a WAO or WIA benefit has gradually decreased. This development is attributed to a series of provisions which has led to a greater responsibility of employers and employees for timely return to work and a higher threshold to a disability benefit. In addition, the vision on disability changed: there is now much more eye for what a worker with health restrictions still can. In Germany only little changed to the regulation and implementation of social security. The possibility of a stay in a ‘Rehabilitationsklinik ‘ at impending disability for a combination of treatment, assessment and advice is an interesting aspect of the German approach. Since 2004, the percentage of ‘new cases’ of disability in Netherlands and Germany are similar, while the difference in the percentage of ‘existing cases’ gradually decreases.