Tampere to screen long-term unemployed for medical unfitness and redirect them to benefits
From October Tampere will screen long-term unemployed residents for medical unfitness and direct those eligible to appropriate benefits, targeting about 2,200 mainly over-55s who have been jobless more than five years.
Yle reports that from October the city will screen long-term unemployed residents for medical unfitness and guide those eligible to appropriate benefits. The service targets mainly over-55s who have been unemployed for more than five years – around 2,200 people in Tampere. It combines medical assessments with functional work trials run by a coach.
This follows a notable rise in unemployment in Pirkanmaa earlier this year in May.
The city aims to cut the millions in penalty payments municipalities must pay to Kela when unemployment drags on. Tampere’s share last year was nearly €50 million, and long-term unemployment has risen about 30 percent from the previous year.
Tampere will hire six work-capacity coordinators. By the third year, pension-related solutions alone could save roughly €1.3 million, the city expects.
THL lead researcher Minna Kivipelto called the current system "very ineffective" at spotting people who need other benefits and welcomed Tampere’s inclusion of practical workplace assessments alongside medical evaluations. The new service builds on the North Karelia Topakka model, where 60 percent of participants moved from unemployment benefits to sickness allowance, rehabilitation or disability pension. It will operate alongside work by the Pirkanmaa well-being area and Kela to decide final benefit entitlement.
Earlier coverage
Catch the full story over at YLE
