Job retention actions for employees after long term sickness. What strategies for French and German large companies?

Aim: The research undertaken by the Centre de recherche pour l'étude et l'observation des conditions de vie (CREDOC) for the Institut national du cancer (INCa) sought to shed light on how the issue of job retention arises for the company stakeholders and how it fits into professional practices. Methods: The research involved nine large companies in France and Germany. Interviews have been conducted with stakeholders involved in the process of returning to work. Results: Statutory duties involving job retention policies in France(redeployment obligation, employment of disabled people, employment of older workers), do not refer to a unified field of practice around the goal of remaining in employment for company stakeholders. In Germany however, the relationship between the policy objective of job retention and human resources management is manifested through a protocol defined by law, legacy of the Great War. French institutions are characterized by a case by case management of job retention, with little anticipation. Favourable situations in which solidarity between colleagues plays a decisive role hide discretionary processes at work in the absence of a procedure, and in a context of increasing demand for productivity. Conclusion: The existence of a protocol in Germany does not guarantee the success of job retention policies, but it enables it to exist as a requirement for company stakeholders, as a policy objective. Prat Organ Soins. 2011;42(1):19-26