Tampere launches service to identify long-term unemployed unable to work

Tampere will launch a new service to identify long-term unemployed people who are unable to work and guide them towards the benefits they are entitled to, Yle reports.

The city pays nearly 50 million euros a year because unemployment lasts too long. Many people among the long-term unemployed may instead qualify for sickness allowance, rehabilitation or a disability pension.

Municipalities must reimburse the Social Insurance Institution of Finland for part of unemployment benefits when unemployment continues for an extended period. Tampere paid nearly 50 million euros in such compensation last year.

The cost has been increased by long-term unemployment, which rose by 30 percent in Tampere from the previous year. The city estimates that around 2,200 people aged over 55 have been unemployed for more than five years.

The new work and functional capacity assessment service aims to guide people with reduced work capacity towards the correct benefit more efficiently. The city estimates that pension decisions alone could generate savings of around 1.3 million euros in the third year of the service.

The service will be able to assess the work capacity of 360 clients a year. Tampere plans to hire six work capacity coordinators, while a doctor will carry out a medical assessment of each client’s work and functional capacity.

Clients will also undergo a functional assessment by taking part in a work trial at a real workplace. A coach will monitor their physical, psychological and social capacity to work.

The final decision on benefits will be made by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland or an earnings-related pension provider. The service is scheduled to begin in October.

The medical assessment of unemployed people’s work capacity is currently carried out by Pirha, the wellbeing services county of Pirkanmaa. Cooperation with Pirha is expected to continue.

The service is part of Tampere’s employment package, which aims to improve the city’s unemployment situation and reduce compensation payments.

Minna Kivipelto, a leading researcher at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, agrees that the current system identifies incapacity for work among the long-term unemployed too slowly and inconsistently.

“The current system is really inefficient,” Kivipelto said, according to Yle.

Assessing work capacity is currently the responsibility of wellbeing services counties. Kivipelto said the division of responsibility between employment areas and wellbeing services counties may not be clear.

She said municipal compensation payments for prolonged unemployment may encourage employment areas to identify people who are unable to work. Kivipelto also said wellbeing services counties may lack sufficient incentives to assess work capacity, as staff numbers have been reduced and funding is limited.

About one third of unemployed people currently have no obligation to seek work. Kivipelto said a large proportion of them are, in practice, unable to work.

She said assessing unemployed people’s work capacity requires stronger cooperation between social work, healthcare, employment services and the Social Insurance Institution of Finland.