Disability in labour law. Legal research into the reintegration of disabled employees on the labour market.

Our labour market faces a number of challenges as a result of demographic changes, including ageing of the population, and the increased globalization. International and European policy makers call upon national countries to allow as many people as possible to participate in the labour market. This is usually referred to under the concept of (re-) integration. This raises the question of whether Belgian labour law complies with this concept of re-integration, moreover vis-à-vis the disabled employee, i.e. the employee who becomes (long term or short term) disabled, or incapable to work, due to an illness or an accident. This research project will examine what the concept of re-integration means and how it affects labour law the debate. The research project will then examine to what extent Belgian labour law is compatible or conflicts with the re-integration concept. Finally, the research will examine how the re-integration concept is able to fill in the existing shortcomings in Belgian labour law, based on the European policy context as well as on French and Dutch examples.

Keywords:Reintegration, Disability, Work incapacity, Labour law

Disciplines:Law