NEOS proposes partial work capacity for health-impaired workers

The Austrian political party NEOS is advocating for the introduction of a ‘partial work capacity’ (Teilarbeitsfähigkeit) model. Proposed by social spokesperson Johannes Gasser, the initiative aims to support individuals who cannot maintain full-time employment due to health restrictions, specifically targeting the chronically ill and older workers.

Gasser noted that while unemployment rates for those aged 60 to 64 have risen to 9.8 percent, this is not primarily due to mass layoffs. Instead, nearly half of older workers face health-related barriers to employment, often leading to long-term unemployment because they cannot fulfill the requirements of standard roles. The goal of the proposal is to keep these individuals in the workforce longer through flexible arrangements.

This proposal serves as a counter-argument to a ‘bonus-malus system’ currently being discussed by the SPÖ and the Chamber of Labour (AK), which would use financial incentives to encourage companies to hire older employees. Gasser emphasized that partial work capacity is part of the government program, whereas the bonus-malus system is not.