A brief guide to the rights of people with diabetes

INTEGRATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY 1 INTO WORK AND RIGHTS IN THE WORKING ENVIRONMENT • L. 2643/1998 :

• Recruitment through OAED of people with disabilities with a disability percentage (PA) of 50% in the public sector through annual announcements of Law 2643/98. Required documents: KEPA decision in force, where reference will be made to Law 2643/1998 and registration in the OAED unemployed register.
• Participation in ASEP announcements, occupying 10% of the vacant positions (Law 4440/2016).
• List of candidates for appointment as permanent/substitute/hourly paid teachers and Special Educational Staff – Special Support Staff: If the applicant/spouse/Party of a Cohabitation Agreement or the child has a PA of at least 50%, then PA X 0.4.
• Reduction of 1 hour per day in working hours for Armed Forces, Conscription, Military Justice Personnel, if they have a child up to 18 years old with type 1 disability and a disability of at least 50%.
• Police Personnel of the Ministry of Citizen Protection: Discount of 1 hour per day without reduction in salary, for those who have a child up to 18 years old with a type 1 social security number and a 50% PA and the right to be seconded to the area of permanent residence.
• Regular employees and employees with a private law employment relationship of indefinite and fixed term of the State, of the Public Legal Entities and Local Authorities, who have children up to 18 years of age who suffer from insulin-dependent or type 1 Diabetes Mellitus with a PA of 50% are entitled to reduced working hours by one hour (article 27 par. 1 of Law 4305/Government Gazette 237 A'/2014 & Government Gazette 53A'/2020)
• Special leave of 6 working days with pay, in addition to the regular leave, is entitled to persons with a disability of 50% or more, who work in the narrow public sector or have been hired in the broader public sector (local authorities, public utilities, etc.) or private sector through the OAED's New Job Grant Programs for Persons with Disabilities (art. 50, par. 4, Law 3528/2007).
• Specialized doctors and dentists, who suffer from SD, can apply for appointment to personal positions in their specialty in a Public Hospital or Health Center of the National Health System. 5-year term, introductory grade of Supervisor B with the possibility of permanent appointment, following a judgment by a 5-member Special Selection Board.
• Graduates of all health professions schools, AEI or (former) TEI in the specialties of nurses, medical laboratory technologists, social workers, physiotherapists, pharmacists, psychologists and biologists, "chemists and biochemists" may request their appointment to personal positions in their specialty, which are recommended by the appointment decision in any hospital or Health Center of the National Health System.
• Doctors with diabetes and the concomitant condition diabetic retinopathy have the right to specialize, as surplus staff, in the specialty and hospital of their choice (article 20, par. 11, Law 2519/1997).

PENSION BENEFITS

For applicants for disability pension, the individual statutory provisions of the insurance funds apply, as they were in force until the enactment of the new insurance law 4837/2016. Establishment of a pension right, due to disability, means that all legal conditions for the granting of the pension have been met, i.e. there are the minimum days of insurance required by the pension legislation and a pensionable percentage of disability (according to the statutory provisions of the institutions that joined the e-EFKA), which is certified by a health committee of the KEPA.

OTHER SOCIAL & FINANCIAL BENEFITS

•  Exemption from Military Service for Boys (with Medical Opinion) (PD 11/Government Gazette A 17/2)
• Unlimited journey card, if they receive welfare benefits, without a certificate of disability from the KEPA. Those who do not receive welfare benefits are entitled to the card with a disability percentage of 67% and above.
• Additional tax reduction of 200 euros for people with Diabetes Mellitus who are assessed with a disability rate of 67% or more due to complications or a second disease, etc. (Law 4172/2013)
• Reduction of municipal fees based on income criteria, according to a decision of the relevant municipality. The conditions and criteria (disability percentage, income, etc.) differ from municipality to municipality.
• Inclusion in the social electricity tariff with a disability rate of 67% and above.
• Inclusion in the social water tariff with a percentage, usually, of 67% and above.

GRANT OF WELFARE ALLOWANCE

 People with type 1 diabetes with a disability rate of 50%, if they are unemployed or indirectly insured, are entitled to a severe disability allowance of 338 euros per month from OPEKA. People with type 1 diabetes who suffer from a second disease, e.g. multiple sclerosis, etc., or have complications of diabetes (e.g. end-stage renal disease, blindness, etc.), should seek information on co-granting an allowance, due to the needs of the additional disability, e.g. blindness allowance, nutritional allowance in case of renal disease and aerotherapy allowance for end-stage renal disease. The welfare allowance is not confiscated, is not offset and is not calculated in the income limits for the payment of any social or welfare benefit. It is also not counted towards receiving the Social Solidarity Income (SSI). People with type 1 disability, who either participate in training programs, employment support programs including self-employment or work in Social Cooperative Enterprises of Law 4019/2011 (Social Cooperative Enterprises) and receive welfare benefits or reintegration benefits or any form of hospital or benefit, do not lose these benefits but continue to receive them simultaneously and cumulatively with the compensation from their participation in these programs and/or their remuneration from employment in Social Cooperative Enterprises (article 13 of Law 4331/2015, Government Gazette A' 69/2015).

RIGHTS OF STUDENTS WITH TYPE 1 DISABILITIES AT ALL LEVELS OF EDUCATION

Work-life balance program (childcare centers/KDAP): Applicants with disabilities, as well as applicants with a child with disabilities, receive an additional 50 points.

• Presence of a nurse for infants and toddlers attending municipal nurseries and daycare centers (article 13, paragraph 10 of Joint Ministerial Decision 41087/2017 – Standard Regulation for the Operation of Childcare Centers).
• Presence of a school nurse for children attending primary and secondary education. The parent's request is made with the opinion of the attending physician and the seal of the Clinic Director.
• 24 days of absence per academic year, which are not counted in the total absences (Ministry of Education G2/2209/1998).
• Admission to higher education without entrance exams at a rate of 5%: Candidates address one of the special Seven-Member Committees, which have been established in specific Public or University Hospitals, in order to obtain a Certificate of diagnosis of the condition. An application, a medical opinion from a Public Hospital with a stamp from a Coordinator Director of a Clinic or Laboratory of the National Health System (NHS) or a legally acting Coordinator Director of a Clinic or Laboratory of the National Health System (NHS) or a University Professor or Associate Professor and a copy of their ID card are required.

SOURCE:

Panhellenic Federation of Associations and Societies of People with Diabetes Mellitus (POSSASDIA)