The Cost-and-Benefit Study of Vocational Rehabilitation for Persons with Disabilities in Croatia was developed for the needs of the Fund for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. To increase the employability of people with disabilities, programmes of vocational rehabilitation and re-education are implemented through which participants acquire knowledge, expertise and skills in order to be more competitive when looking for a job. Vocational rehabilitation programmes are being implemented in all EU Member States and Croatia, but there has been relatively little research on their effects.
This Project, among other things, included the calculation of cost effectiveness of different options of professional (working) rehabilitation of people with disabilities. By exercising their right to work, persons with disabilities benefit in many ways. It gives them the possibility of emancipation by showing and confirming their own working capabilities, it helps them in improving their financial and social status, and finally, their work and activities positively influence society. Vocational rehabilitation helps people with significant disabilities to stably integrate the labour market and generate income. Public investment in vocational rehabilitation can accomplish significant tangible and intangible benefits, but it is crucial that participants have a permanent connection to the labour market. This is also accompanied by substantial social benefits mostly in the form of reductions in expenditures for various rights in the employment and social welfare systems, while employed persons with disabilities pay social security contributions and income tax. Measures can be implemented through additional assistance and compensation for people with disabilities, even when these persons are employed. For instance, co-financing payment can be used for covering a certain part of their salary as well as for reducing their contributions from salary, or additionally increasing their personal allowances. Furthermore, there is a possibility to introduce benefits for employers who employ persons with disabilities by reducing employers' contributions, applying additional subsidies and the like.