The monthly focus of this 28^th issue is dedicated to employees with disabilities and more particularly the need to move towards a more inclusive policy. As usual, we present you the last trends in several countries on this theme and the inspiring ways in which they are implementing them.
Beyond the news, you will get acquainted with Axa's new smart working model and the decentralizing of government departments in Denmark.

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Have a good reading. Take good care of you and others!

The vision RH editorial team

Whereas the proportion of people with disabilities in the civil service increased in 2019 and is now close to the target of 6% set by law, there are still – according to the latest annual report published by the FIPHFP (a fund that was set up to provide public-sector job opportunities for persons with disabilities) – significant discrepancies between France's three civil service branches: 7.04% in the local civil service, 5.79% in hospitals and 4.86% at central government level.

While the majority of countries in the EU – 16 of them – have, like France, introduced a quota system (which Ireland applies only to the public sector), Denmark, the United Kingdom and Sweden have refused to do so, and instead apply the principle of non-discrimination. The remaining eight countries prefer to take a soft law approach, primarily based on the use of financial incentives to encourage and promote initiatives.

In Germany, where all public administrations meet or exceed a threshold set at 5%, each body must have elected representation for people with disabilities. This representation consists of one or more members of staff (who may be granted a leave of absence depending on the number of employees) who report to management and who are involved in all decision-making (hiring, mobility, promotion, etc.), provided that the measure affects at least one person with a disability. Representatives are granted five extra days of annual leave and the right to retire two years early.

In Spain, the Autonomous Community of Aragon elected to increase the national quota from 5 to 8% for local government staff, a pilot programme that is being keenly observed by the rest of the country. The additional percentage is specifically reserved for groups that are still under-represented: 2/3 of these positions will go to people with intellectual disabilities and 1/3 to those with mental disorders.

However, apart from numerical targets, some initiatives are being carried out to help break down any remaining barriers. Examples include the following:

• In Austria, a dedicated unit ("Bundessache") reviews job descriptions, checks employment conditions and searches for potential candidates in cooperation with its local office. It supervises the employee's workstation adaptations and also provides services (personal assistance, individual coaching, transport). Managers are required to attend awareness-raising sessions on accessibility arrangements.

• Two incentive schemes in New Zealand (Lead Toolkit) and the Netherlands (Toolbox inclusief) are intended to promote the hiring, integration and professional development of those with disabilities. They compile all relevant information for public employers as well as a compendium of best practices. Employees are supported throughout the various stages by a skills centre.

• Aware of the key role that the first few weeks in a new workplace can play, the State of New South Wales – Australia's largest employer – has designed a specific "Onboarding and Induction" programme aimed at all employees.

This summer, following on from new legislation passed by the Parliament in Ottawa in late 2019, Canada unveiled its Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service. It consists of five goals covering employees' career paths as well as adaptation of the built environment and workplace tools. A dozen performance indicators, including perception surveys, will measure annual progress.

Launched twelve years ago, the "DuoDay" campaign has now taken root in a number of European countries and the public sector is doing its fair share. The idea is simple: one day a year, an employee with a disability pairs up with a volunteer colleague. This is an excellent opportunity to meet people with disabilities, to change one's outlook and, together, to overcome prejudices. The next DuoDay will take place on 19 November 2020.

With the aim of serving as an example, all federal government departments have committed to stop emitting greenhouse gases two decades before the nation-wide deadline. The Federal Ministry of the Environment, which already complies with these criteria, has set up a coordination unit responsible for compiling a list of measures (buildings, travel, equipment, events, catering) and supervising their implementation.

As part of the National Programme for Inland Development, the Government has introduced incentives to encourage civil servants to settle in sparsely populated areas. Employees who apply for vacant positions or who choose to work remotely from centres to be set up there will be given a bonus as well as additional holiday time.

The National Association of Organisational Consultants has designed JDI, a serious game to raise awareness of innovation in public and private organisations. Available free of charge (downloadable under a free licence), it has been tested by local authorities and during training courses (INET). It is based on playful and simple but effective ways to encourage participants' involvement and creativity.

New methods have been introduced in order to comply with government recruitment objectives (acceleration of hiring procedures, test harmonisation and professionalisation of the hiring process). These include online registration and preselection, knowledge of at least one foreign language (at B1 level) and psycho-technical tests (counting for 15% of the total score) that use role-playing to assess candidates' hard and soft skills.

To provide support and training for staff working in the healthcare, medical-social and social sectors, the "4C" initiative (which stands for "the Keys to Knowledge, Skills and Career" will be rolled out soon. It is specifically adapted to issues encountered by institutions and is based on the three main areas of awareness-raising, career development and training courses.

To identify the digital skills needs of government employees, a survey is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Luxembourg. It is divided into three parts (a bilingual online questionnaire, individual interviews and focus groups) and aims to collect quantitative and qualitative data on the digital transformation in the civil service, its level of maturity and the skills to be enhanced.

Challenged by the current pandemic and widespread teleworking, work collectives have to reinvent themselves. The British civil service is introducing a new learning resource consisting of a series of modules designed to strengthen team relationships by supporting both performance and well-being. Based on the PERMA (positive psychology) model, it focuses on trust and communication.

Although new measures in favour of workplace gender equality will enter into force pursuant to the Act of 6 August 2019, a study led by the Management Centre for the Greater Paris region reveals the many gaps that persist and point the way to improvements. For example, although women are in the majority in the workforce, they still only account for a third of internal promotions and their pay is 19% lower than that of their male colleagues.

The Dutch Administration strongly encourages staff members to undertake successive transfers during their professional careers. To facilitate this, it is launching "Functieruil", a dedicated mobile app that allows candidates to find positions corresponding to their qualifications. Once the exchange has been accepted by both parties, the HR departments can validate and implement the secondment procedure.

An assessment has just been conducted of the expanded range of flexible working hours in government departments (from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.), which was introduced on 1 January 2018. Staff members, supervisors and staff representatives expressed their satisfaction with the way in which the system, which is based on individual choice, has been adopted. The number of overtime hours has been reduced in favour of ad hoc adjustments to the time worked.

The government and unions have signed an agreement that provides a new legal framework for teleworking. Article 47 of the Basic Statute of Public Employment (EBEP) has been amended. Although employees must still submit individual requests that are subject to hierarchical approval, the agreement stipulates that an objective assessment must be carried out of the employee's duties and that he or she must follow training courses related to teleworking, and that he or she has the right to switch off outside working hours.

La Fabrique Spinoza has submitted a new study to the Conseil d’Etat (France's Supreme Administrative Court), in which two ministries (Armed Forces and Culture), two regions (Île-de-France and Occitanie), one urban centre (Orléans) and various partners actively took part. It presents the results of several recent perception surveys, numerous profiles and testimonials from staff, as well as inspiring best practices from initiatives deployed throughout France.

The entire economic sector is faced with the challenge of organising the working environment such that it meets employee expectations and satisfies the company's needs effectively and over the long term.

To this end, the Swiss subsidiary (1) of the Axa Group has launched a new "Smart Working" agreement that will apply to all employees as soon as the current pandemic-related measures are lifted.

The company has already introduced a number of flexible working solutions (including part-time job sharing), tailored to age groups and individual circumstances. These successful forays were used to define a model based on team accountability and the elimination of location requirements.

Depending on departmental needs – which will be assessed at local level – in-office presence will be between 40 and 60%. Employees can, at their discretion, work the remainder of the time in a private location or coworking space, and even on a roaming basis.

Events such as meetings, teamwork and sociable gatherings can be planned in order to maintain the personal contact that is essential to team-building.

Every employee will receive an annual allowance of 200 Swiss francs (186 euros) to help finance optional equipment that are not covered by the employer's obligations.

¹ Axa is Switzerland's largest insurance company and employs 4,500 people.

As in many countries, Copenhagen and its suburbs account for almost a quarter of the population.  Consequently, nearly every central and national government department is located in the Danish capital.

Successfully countering this trend by relocating some ministries and agencies across Denmark to be "as close as possible to citizens and businesses" is the government's ambitious goal, as set out in the two "Bedre Balance 1 & 2" (Better Balance) initiatives, overseen by the Ministry of Finance.

After consulting with local authorities with a view to jointly determining local capacities, nearly 8,000 posts – i.e. more than 20% of those currently located in Copenhagen – will, by the end of 2021, be transferred to 60 towns and cities, evenly distributed across Denmark's four regions.

Every government department has been involved, and each submitted a list of potential directorates and establishments.

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Twenty years ago, the country's public services introduced the concept of "digital by default". This put Denmark into the top three on the DESI (1) since the ranking was launched in 2014. Widespread broadband access and a high percentage of paperless services have made this deployment easier.

Support measures for staff have been negotiated with the unions. They relate both to departing staff who have not found a position corresponding to their expectations (they are given a skills assessment and the cost of qualifying training is covered as part of a retraining initiative), and to those who agree to move to a new location.

Several measures have been put in place to encourage buy-in by staff and to get them to take the plunge:

• Several new structures provide customised assistance in finding accommodation, organising relocation and handling all the administrative procedures (particularly with schools)

• Relocated staff are given the right to telework at least two days per week. In addition, those who wish to maintain their former residence will have their commuting time (up to one hour per day and if it is by public transport) counted as working time.

¹ Digital Economy and Society Index.