The Recruitment of Persons with Disabilities in the Wider Public Sector Law, L.146(I)/2009
The right of persons with disabilities to work and the obligations of states to fulfill this right is defined in the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the ILO Convention no 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities as well as the EU Directive 2000/78/EC. In this framework, Cyprus, as many other EU member states has proceeded to the adoption of a special quota law as a positive measure to enhance accessibility of persons with disabilities in employment.
MAIN PROVISIONS OF THE LAW
• QUOTA: Persons with disabilities who fulfill specific objective requirements are recruited in employment positions in the wider public sector at a quota of 10% of the number of vacancies
• 3 OBJECTIVE REQUIREMENTS: (a) to have the necessary qualifications required for the employment position; (b) to have succeeded in any written or oral examinations required for the employment position; (c) assessed to be capable for the execution of the duties of the specific employment position, by the competent appointing body which is obliged to take into consideration the report of a special multidisciplinary commission.
• DEFINITION OF ENTITLED PERSONS:
“a person with disability” means the person who, according to the assessment by a special multidisciplinary committee, experiences any kind of impairment which cause permanent or long term physical or intellectual or mental restriction substantially reducing or excluding the possibility to find and maintain an appropriate employment.
The responsibility for recruitments lies with the appointing bodies in the wider public sector services. The role of the Department for Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities is to support the appointing bodies by organizing the multidisciplinary assessment committees who perform the assessment and certification of disability and eligibility for recruitment in the framework of the law and also to gather and report to the Council of Ministers and the House of Representatives for the annual results of the implementation of the law.