Sectoral Policies and Initiatives in Employment

Law No. 31 and the National Disability Strategy address the issue of employment. Article 4c of Law No. 31 underlines the right of persons with disabilities to equal employment opportunities and the obligation for employers to accommodate their needs.  The Article also stipulates that all public and private establishments employing between 25 and 50 workers should employ at least one person with disablity and that, in all public and private establishments employing more than 50 workers, no fewer than 4 per cent of all employees should be persons with disabilities.  

In addition, Article 12 mandates private sector institutions that do not respect the quotas to pay a fine equal to twice the minimum wage of 150 Jordan dinars (approximately US$210) for each person with disability the establishment would otherwise be employing. The fine is doubled if the violation is repeated. 

In parallel, Article 13 of the Labour Law of 1996 mandates that employers employing 50 workers or more and “whose nature of work allows employing disabled workers who have been trained vocationally through programmes and the vocational training institutes for the disabled approved by the Ministry or established in cooperation with the official or private institutions, shall employ such disabled workers with a percentage of 2 per cent of the total of his workers and send to the Ministry a statement in which the employer shall clarify the positions held by the disabled who have been trained vocationally and the wage of each of them”.

The National Disability Strategy sets forth a number of measures to be taken in order to increase the economic participation of persons with disabilities, including as follows:

1. Enhancing accessibility at workplaces;
2. Providing accessible public means of transportation on routes to qualified industrial zones;
3. Providing monetary incentives to institutions that show commitment in hiring and training persons with disabilities;
4. Ensuring rights of persons with disabilities to equal opportunities in the workplace and equal pay in appropriate working conditions;
5. Supporting and building the capacities of vocational training institutions and increasing the enrolment of persons with disabilities;
6. Following up the application of the disability employment quota by establishing a specialized department in the Ministry of Labour.

In theory, the Labour Inspection Department within the Ministry of Labour is in charge of monitoring non-compliance by carrying out inspections and receiving complaints from employees, including persons with disabilities.  The job placement system in the public sector through the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) also gives priority to persons with disabilities over able-bodied counterparts and places them according to their scientific qualification (CSB applicants have to have at least a diploma as a qualification). 

The National Agenda and the Executive Programme 2007-2009 for the National Agenda also briefly address the issue of employment for persons with disabilities. Reducing unemployment among persons with disabilities is one of the general actions promoted by the National Agenda, while the Executive Programme stresses the right to employment in suitable positions for persons with disabilities.