Many people with disabilities live in residential facilities – as independently as possible, but still looked after. The costs for this are borne by public bodies. However, Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz has repeatedly faced a problem. If the residents are not in the dormitory for a certain number of days because they stay with their parents on weekends, for example, the families often have to pay a lot of money. “This contradicts the right to live as independently as possible, as provided for by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And it is unfair, because the attendance requirement actually only applies to people who cannot afford the ‘fine payment’ for days of absence,” says Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz: “The Ombudsman is therefore calling on the federal states to abolish such absence day regulations.”
Parents had to pay 1,400 euros because they picked up their son on the weekend
The parents of Stefan S. (41), who has been living in a residential home for people with disabilities for almost ten years, have recently contacted the Ombudsman’s office. He not only spends holidays and vacations, but also every weekend with his parents. For this they had to pay over 1,400 euros for the past year, because the number of “permitted” days of absence is limited to 70 per year. This is what the funding conditions of the Vienna Social Fund (FSW) provide. There are similar regulations in other federal states, but the practical effects there are even worse because the journeys are longer than in Vienna.
The center of life must count – Nobody always has to spend the night in their apartment
The funding bodies say that such regulations are necessary because they want the residents to spend as much time as possible in the facilities, because there are care staff there who are paid with tax money, and these funds have to be used efficiently. For Ombudsman Achitz, the argument is fundamentally understandable, but there is a strict needs test anyway. “Only those who need such a place to live will get it. Then the center of his life is there, and that doesn’t change if you go to relatives on the weekend,” said Achitz, and in the ORF program “Citizens’ Attorney” on November 2nd he made a comparison: “You don’t have to pay back the housing allowance because you don’t spend your weekends in your apartment. Absence doesn’t change where the center of your life is.”
Sick leave eats up vacation entitlement
The Ombudsman has repeatedly drawn attention to absence regulations that violate the UN CRPD and are socially unfair, both in residential facilities and in “workshops”. In the latter, those affected can lose their place if they are absent too often due to vacation and, above all, illness. “It’s as if employees’ vacation entitlement were forfeited if too many sick days were needed,” says Ombudsman Achitz.
FSW announces new regulations for workshops
For workshops – but not for residential facilities – the FSW has now announced a new regulation in “Citizens’ Advocate”: In the future, 30 days of absence for vacation and 50 for illness will be permitted; Hospital stays should not fall into this quota. Ombudsman Achitz: “I am very pleased that there is progress here.” This sick leave regulation is a step towards the socially insured and paid jobs demanded by the Ombudsman. They are intended to replace the workshop places where people with disabilities only receive pocket money.
In 2019, the Ombudsman drew attention to this in the special report “Wages instead of pocket money” to parliament and the state parliaments. Achitz: “We received a lot of support for this, but our demands have still not been implemented.”
Special report from the Ombudsman’s Office: https://bit.ly/2JFGU2U
Special report in Easy Read: https://bit.ly/3ogvNMA
SERVICE: The Ombudsman can be reached at post@volksanwaltschaft.gv.at and on the free service number 0800 223 223.