Reintegration after illness – What you should know as an employer

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What is meant by “reintegration”?
(Gradual) reintegration is understood as assistance that is intended to make it easier for employees who have been unable to work for a long time to return to work . Under medical supervision, employees are gradually reaccustomed to the full workload. This gradual reintegration is usually referred to as the Hamburg model .

What are the prerequisites for reintegration after illness?
Reintegration after illness does not always have to be the first step after a long period of absence. Depending on the length of the absence, the reason or simply the person, reintegration can make sense. However, there are fundamental requirements that employees must meet:

The employee would like to return to work within one year after an illness lasting at least six weeks .
There is a certificate from the treating doctor stating that the employee can at least partially return to work and may even be able to fully return to work at the end of the reintegration period.
During the entire duration of the measures, the employee Cell Phone Number Database was considered unfit for work . This point is important for financial support during reintegration.
The treating doctor, you as the employer and the employee agree to the reintegration and believe in the success of the measures.
Why does reintegration after an illness make sense?
Reintegration after illness has advantages for both employees and employers:



Benefits for employees:

Allows you to gradually get used to the workload
The job is safe
It increases the chance of lasting social participation
Advantages for employers:

Adapted stress prevents recurrence
No financial losses due to re-entry
Increases employee satisfaction
Who pays for reintegration?
In principle, after the first six weeks of illness, either the health insurance, pension insurance or, in special cases, accident insurance will continue to pay wages. Since employees are considered unfit for work during the period of reintegration, payment of wages by the employer is not mandatory , but can be included voluntarily in the phased plan. However, this also means that during the phased reintegration, the employee will continue to receive only sick pay.

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Can the reintegration be stopped?
For health or operational reasons, the reintegration can be interrupted for up to seven days. If the interruption lasts longer, the reintegration is officially terminated.

However, the reintegration can also be terminated for other reasons by the treating doctor, the insurance provider, the employee or the employer. Typical reasons are usually a significant improvement in the state of health, so that the employee can return to work more quickly, or a significant deterioration in the state of health, due to which the employer or doctor comes to the conclusion that the reintegration should be terminated.

What could a gradual reintegration look like?
The step-by-step plan
The step-by-step plan is the central component of reintegration after an illness. It usually begins with a few working hours and increases until the original workload is reached.

The entire course of the step-by-step reintegration plan is monitored by the doctor and, if necessary, adjusted based on these observations: Does the employee need longer to complete the steps or perhaps even less time.