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Unemployable Workers? Comparing the Context and Contract in Voluntary Work and Regular Jobs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2012

Tone Alm Andreassen
Tone Alm Andreassen*
Affiliation:
Work Research Institute, Oslo E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

In welfare societies, disability pensions or incapacity benefits provide income security to people who, due to health problems or disability, are assessed as being unemployable. However, it is sometimes possible for people on disability pensions to work, for instance on a voluntary basis in and on behalf of associations of disabled people. This article applies perspectives on employability and discusses whether voluntary workers, like representatives of associations of disabled people, could have been employed in the ordinary labour market or whether there are definite characteristics of voluntary work which allow their capacity for work to be utilised.

Keywords

Disabilityemployabilitylabour marketmental illnesswork capacityvoluntary work
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , July 2013 , pp. 381 - 392
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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