Legal protection of the right to work and employment for persons with mental health problems: a review of legislation across the world

Abstract

The right to work and employment is indispensable for social integration of persons with mental health problems. This study examined whether existing laws pose structural barriers in the realization of right to work and employment of persons with mental health problems across the world. It reviewed disability-specific, human rights legislation, and labour laws of all UN Member States in the context of Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). It wes found that laws in 62% of countries explicitly mention mental disability/impairment/illness in the definition of disability. In 64% of countries, laws prohibit discrimination against persons with mental health during recruitment; in one-third of countries laws prohibit discontinuation of employment. More than half (56%) the countries have laws in place which offer access to reasonable accommodation in the workplace. In 59% of countries laws promote employment of persons with mental health problems through different affirmative actions. Nearly 50 years after the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and 10 years after the adoption of CRPD by the UN General Assembly, legal discrimination against persons with mental health problems continues to exist globally. Countries and policy-makers need to implement legislative measures to ensure non-discrimination of persons with mental health problems during employment.

Legal and policy provisions for reasonable accommodation in employment of persons with mental disability in East Africa: A review

“…We reviewed the disability, labour and human rights laws of 18 East African countries (United Nations Statistics Division, 2018) by accessing electronic databases like the WHO MINDbank (World Health Organisation, 2018) and the International Labor Organisation's NA-TLEX database of national labour, social security and related human rights legislation (International Labour Organisation, 2018). The databases used for the review were chosen on account of their comprehensiveness and relevance to the subject (Nardodkar et al, 2016). If disability or labor laws were not found for a specific country, we reviewed its constitution in order to obtain data relating to reasonable accommodations in employment for persons with mental disability.…”

Arbitration of accommodation in US workplaces: employee, stakeholder and human resources characteristics

“…Moreover, it has been recommended as a multimethod approach to data analysis of qualitative data (Cook et al ., 2018; Irvine et al ., 2018; Maher et al ., 2018; Vogel et al ., 2018). It has also been used to conduct similar research internationally (Nardodkar et al ., 2016).…”

“…First, what accommodations are made for disabled (Foster and Scott, 2015; Nevala et al, 2015; William, 2016; William et al, 2019)? How are employees with mental illnesses accommodated (Hudson, 2016; Iannozzi, 2015; Kaminer, 2016; LaVan, 2019; Link et al, 2018; Nardodkar et al, 2016)? How does accommodation differ when the arbitration involves a discipline‐related issue (Allen and Lucero, 1998; Brand et al, 2008; Cooper, 2011; LaVan, 2007; Saundry et al, 2011; Wood et al, 2017)?…”

Psychiatric rehabilitation in Europe

“…Most high-income countries in Europe and elsewhere have right-to-work laws to protect people with disabilities (Nardodkar et al 2016). Nevertheless, overcoming prejudice in everyday life remains problematic.…”