The role of social partners in facilitating return to work: a comparative analysis for Belgium and Italy
ISSN: 0142-5455
Article publication date: 12 January 2024
Issue publication date: 11 July 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how social partners contribute to the successful return to work (RTW) of individuals affected by chronic diseases, employing the framework of actor-centred institutionalism.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper adopts a comparative case study methodology to assess the role of social partners in the workplace (re-)integration of people with chronic disease in Belgium and Italy, both of which represent well-developed industrial relations systems yet having different institutional and policy frameworks on RTW.
Findings
Institutional factors are found to affect the type and degree of social partners' commitment and contribution to RTW. Differences in their commitment can be explained by their varied degrees of integration in public policy formation, which explain their different preferred stages of interactions in this field: national tripartite social dialogue for Belgium; and sectoral collective bargaining for Italy. Unsatisfactory outcomes of social partners’ contribution in facilitating RTW processes are attributed to the fragmentation of the legal framework and uneven development of collective bargaining in Italy. In Belgium, the authors find the presence of cumbersome RTW procedures downplaying the role of the worker representative.
Originality/value
This paper adds empirical evidence to the limited literature on the role of social partners in facilitating RTW and sheds light on how to improve the current policy context. It suggests involving the social partners in the development of a comprehensive public policy framework, which should allow for an early, flexible and multi-stakeholder (re-)integration procedure following chronic disease.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper forms part of a special section “The role of social dialogue in return to work after chronic conditions”, guest edited by Drs Margaret Heffernan, Eugene Hickland, Adela Popa.
This paper uses data collected during the REWIR (Negotiating return to work in the age of demographic change through industrial relations) project, funded by the European Union (Grant No. VS/2019/0075).
Citation
Armaroli, I. and Akgüç, M. (2024), "The role of social partners in facilitating return to work: a comparative analysis for Belgium and Italy", Employee Relations, Vol. 46 No. 3, pp. 517-531. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-10-2022-0476
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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