abstract: 'Objectives The aim of this article is to present an overview of the

  reflections led by various European and international organizations on

  the employment of people with mental disorders.

  Methods This study is based on data from websites of international

  organizations and interviews taken place with a disability specialist at

  the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and members of the European

  Commission.

  Results Unlike the French law of 11 February 2005 which refers expressly

  to psychic disability, this notion is not explicitly dedicated by

  various European and international legal rules. However, these standards

  like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with

  Disabilities have adopted the contemporary model which presents

  disability as the result of an interaction between person and

  environment. Thus they acknowledge that disabled people include people

  suffering from mental disorders because in the person''s environment, a

  psychiatric impairment could lead to limitations of activities or

  restrictions of social participation that constitute a situation of

  disability of psychiatric origin. Therefore, the legal mechanisms often

  do not provide appropriate answers to the characteristics of psychiatric

  disability.

  Besides, negative attitudes, stereotypes and discrimination towards

  people with a psychiatric disability are still observed in the

  workplace, in spite of intensified anti-discrimination legislation.

  This study inventories the different proposals to remedy to substantial

  barriers to the employment of people with a psychiatric condition. In

  the European Union''s strategy for increasing the employment of these

  persons, particular consideration is given to put forward a series of

  key recommendations to improve practices of reasonable accommodation in

  the workplace. Nonetheless, it must be emphasized that it is necessary

  to conceive adequate measures in order to take into account the

  changeability and the unpredictability of mental disorders. Indeed,

  situations of psychiatric disability require flexibility and reactivity

  more than any other situation of disability. The discrimination

  experienced by people with a psychiatric disability is likely to

  continue as long as specific responses are not implemented. In this

  perspective, ILO highlights a number of best practices addressing the

  challenges of psychiatric disabled people''s employment. That is why a

  disability network was created to share knowledge. The great added value

  of this network is the opportunity to share best practices between

  companies, best practices between countries in order to increase the

  ability to include people with mental disorders. Focus is put on

  strategies to combat discrimination in employment, by raising awareness,

  exploring measures and good practices to improve mental health in the

  workplace.

  Conclusion Finally, this study shows similar challenges in the

  prevention of the mental health and the issue of the psychiatric

  handicap, including to remedy to the insufficient attention paid to

  provide reasonable accommodation to persons with mental disorders.'
affiliation: 'Joly, L (Corresponding Author), Univ Bordeaux, COMPTRASEC, UMR CNRS
  5114, Bordeaux, France.

  Joly, Laurene, Univ Bordeaux, COMPTRASEC, UMR CNRS 5114, Bordeaux, France.'
author: Joly, Laurene
author_list:
- family: Joly
  given: Laurene
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.7202/1041911ar
eissn: 1708-3923
files: []
issn: 0383-6320
journal: SANTE MENTALE AU QUEBEC
keywords: 'psychiatric disability; definition; disabled workers; mental health in

  the workplace; international organizations; European Union'
language: French
month: FAL
number: '2'
number-of-cited-references: '20'
pages: 17-30
papis_id: aebbabec0efc286b5d675ba4a8bd3ef3
ref: Joly2017employmentpeople
times-cited: '0'
title: Employment of People with Mental Disorders in Terms of the Policies Developed
  by the European and International Institutions
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000418556300003
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '9'
volume: '42'
web-of-science-categories: Psychiatry
year: '2017'