New law makes hiring people with disability mandatory

AMMAN — A new law that will come to force within 30 days obliges both private and public sector establishments employing between 25 and 50 workers to hire one employee with disability, according to official sources.

If the number of employees exceeds 50, the establishment has to hire 4 per cent of the workforce from people with disabilities, according to the new law.

The Jordanian Constitution guarantees the rights of persons with disabilities to be protected from any act of discrimination including exclusion from education and work.

The Higher Council for the rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) Secretary General Muhannad Azzeh said that according to statistics people with disabilities make up to 11.2 per cent of the overall Jordanian population.

There’s a big economic cost of exclusion of people with disabilities, Azzeh said. 

‘’Hiring people with disabilities enhances corporate social responsibility and diversity. It also adds value to the workplace,’’ he added.

People with disabilities are entitled to work in an assistive environment with proper accommodation and accessibility. They also must have access to job coaching if needed, according to the law.

The Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) offers various free training programmes for people with different types of disabilities to help them qualify for jobs, Samer Atout, head of disabled training centre at the VTC said. 

‘’People with disabilities can work and contribute to the community in an environment that understands and respects their special needs. We as a community need to raise awareness of disability and believe that people with disabilities can learn, train and work,” he said.