Employment Of People With Disabilities In Romania

Background:  Promoting optimal social integration of people with disabilities, as active citizens, represents a major objective of Romanian health, social and political strategies. Methods: Review of the official data and studies on employment of disabled people, actualized to 2015.  Results: The total number of disabled people was 759,019 (3.41% of the Romanian population). About 415,852 (59.58%) were aged between 18 and 64. Rate of employment of disabled persons is very small (14%). People with somatic disability represent the most employed category (38.4%); least employed were the mental (3.1%) and psychiatric (5.2%) categories.  The number of authorized protected units (sheltered employment) increased up to 722 units (recorded in 2015). Discussion:   A terminology clarification and unification approach, at national level (between concepts of disability vs. handicap), has become a necessity. Romanian legal frame regarding labour policy and working with disabilities imposes material obligations for employers (the 4% quota system) but also offers fiscal facilities for them. Disabled persons (with accentuated and severe disability/ handicap) are exempt from income tax and complementary cumulate the non-taxable income and disability benefits. Conclusion: This original paper is an updated integrative approach to the Romanian strategy and policy of (re-)employment of people with disabilities. It underlines the main achievements, improvements and limitations in the continuous endeavor of implementation of the legislative framework on the protection, integration and inclusion of disabled persons in Romania.