Lesson 1Organizational changes: permanent day-shift exemption, fixed shift assignment, or modified rotating schedulesThis section covers organizational changes such as permanent day-shift exemptions, fixed shift assignments, and modified rotating schedules, focusing on health protection, staffing needs, co-determination, and fair distribution within teams.
Medical indications for shift exemptionsDesigning fixed and stable shift modelsModified rotating schedules with safeguardsBalancing team fairness and workloadsInvolving works council and SBV earlyLesson 2Support measures: mentoring, buddy systems, and supervised light-duty assignmentsThis section presents support measures such as mentoring, buddy systems, supervised light-duty assignments, and training for colleagues and supervisors, emphasizing role clarity, boundaries, documentation, and escalation paths for problems.
Designing mentoring and buddy systemsStructuring supervised light-duty rolesTraining mentors, buddies, supervisorsClarifying roles, limits, and privacyDocumenting progress and issuesLesson 3Financial and operational support: subsidies, funding routes via Integrationsamt, and tax/insurance implicationsThis section outlines financial and operational support options, including wage subsidies, grants and loans via the Integrationsamt, tax and insurance implications, and how to prepare solid applications and cost-benefit arguments for employers.
Overview of Integrationsamt funding toolsWage subsidies and cost reimbursementsInvestment grants for technical aidsTax treatment and insurance aspectsPreparing funding applicationsLesson 4Task redesign and job carving: reallocating heavy tasks, multi-skilling, and assisted workstationsThis section explains task redesign and job carving, including reallocating heavy or hazardous tasks, combining suitable partial tasks, multi-skilling, and using assisted workstations while maintaining qualification, dignity, and team acceptance.
Analyzing task demands and risksIdentifying tasks to reallocate or removeJob carving and combining partial tasksMulti-skilling and targeted upskillingUsing assisted and shared workstationsLesson 5Trial periods and phased return-to-work plans: design, documentation, and evaluation criteriaThis section explains how to design, document, and evaluate trial periods and phased return-to-work plans, including legal safeguards, medical input, communication with stakeholders, and criteria for deciding whether adjustments become permanent.
Legal basis for trials and phased returnsCoordination with doctors and company doctorDefining scope, duration, and milestonesDocumenting agreements and consentEvaluation criteria and follow-up stepsLesson 6Evaluating effectiveness: KPIs and health-monitoring approaches to confirm accommodations workThis section describes how to evaluate the effectiveness of accommodations using KPIs, health-monitoring tools, feedback loops, and documentation, and how to adjust measures when goals are not met while protecting medical confidentiality.
Defining realistic goals and KPIsHealth and absence monitoring toolsCollecting feedback from employeesAdjusting or ending measures safelyReporting outcomes to stakeholdersLesson 7Technical and ergonomic adaptations: lifting aids, height-adjustable workstations, seating and vibration reductionThis section focuses on technical and ergonomic adaptations such as lifting aids, height-adjustable workstations, seating, lighting, and vibration reduction, including needs assessment, procurement, funding options, and training employees to use aids.
Ergonomic risk assessment and checklistsSelecting lifting and transport aidsHeight-adjustable desks and fixturesSeating, lighting, and noise controlVibration reduction and tool selectionLesson 8Work-time adaptations: reduced hours, predictable schedules, limits on night work, and rest break arrangementsThis section details work-time adaptations, including reduced hours, predictable schedules, limits on night work, and tailored rest breaks, and explains how to align them with collective agreements, payroll, staffing, and health requirements.
Assessing need for reduced working hoursDesigning predictable duty rostersLimiting night and weekend workPlanning health-oriented rest breaksRecording hours and payroll impactsLesson 9How to propose and formalize adjustments in works agreements or individual agreementsThis section explains how to propose and formalize adjustments in works agreements or individual agreements, covering drafting structures, mandatory clauses, data protection, co-determination, and coordination with HR, legal, and the works council.
Choosing collective vs individual solutionsKey clauses for works agreementsIndividual agreements and addendaData protection and confidentialityCoordination with HR, legal, works council
