A number of state-owned companies in Berlin do not meet the mandatory quota for employees with severe disabilities and instead pay a compensatory levy. That was the case in 30 cases in 2020 and 2021, according to the Senate’s response to a written request from SPD MP Lars Düsterhöft, which the German Press Agency (DPA) has received.

According to the financial authorities, these included state companies such as Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH (BIM), Messe Berlin, Olympiastadion Berlin GmbH, Hebbel-Theater Berlin GmbH and several municipal housing companies such as Gesobau AG and Gewobag WB. “RBB24” had previously reported on the subject on Friday.

There were also 17 cases of compensation payments in the two years in question for foundations, corporations and institutions under public law. This affected the University of the Arts, the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music, the Berlin-Weißensee Academy of Art, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Berlin Nature Conservation Foundation, the City Museum Foundation, the Chamber of Crafts and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK).

In principle, every company that does not see itself in a position to offer the mandatory quota of five percent of jobs for severely disabled people prescribed by the Social Security Code is one too many, Düsterhöft told the DPA.

According to the social democrat, companies and supervisory boards are often not aware of the problem. It is not a problem to find qualified personnel with severe disabilities.

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“It’s just convenience,” criticized the SPD MP. “And it’s too cheap to buy your freedom. The levy would have to be doubled or tripled.”